Groundhog Wars...

When you own a piece of land, you inherently take up residence with all the little creatures that inhabit it as well....like it or not....for the most part, all the little creatures live their happy little lives in complete harmony and wonder with us....However, on some occasions, our coexistence's conflict, creating a battle ground of wills and will nots!!! Don't let their cute little furry faces fool you, these little buggers can cause a world of damage...evil little hateful teddy bear wannabes!

Today we engaged in another battle with this enemy of the good and wholesome, the worldly Groundhog...This is our battleground today....our rear hay field.

There must be a dozen or so of these furry furors around the place...the dogs make a good effort to hunt them down and the results are an obviously decrease in the numbers we have seen over the last couple years....the dogs need a little help though...that's where THE GIANT DESTROYER comes in...

The Giant Destroyer is a smoke bomb my dear husband found while researching online how to rid your property of ground hogs. You see, Ground hogs dig huge holes in the ground...like this one....the hole was 2-3 feet deep almost straight down....you can imagine if a horse or human were to be gallivanting along and step in one....no good would come of it....we actually have a horse show next weekend here at Westwood, and our exhibitors will be parking in this very field....we have to make sure all the holes are repaired to help prevent unnecessary injury to the horses, riders and pets....I don't want to recall the story of what happened to our farriers sweet little Jack Russel that ran himself into one of these holes, never to be seen again....it's just so sad :(




After the groundhog hole has been identified, the fuse for The Giant Destroyer is lit, and it is tossed as far down the hole as possible....the smoke will start to fill the hole...




That is our cue to start filling the opening of the hole with dirt....that forces the noxious fumes down deep into the hole, asphyxiating the groundhog....this serves two purposes:

1. The hole hazard is removed


2. The potential for that groundhog to create another hole hazard is significantly diminished...after all, he might not be there this day....no way to tell for sure.

A battle won, but not the war.....such is life on this land...if it's not the groundhogs we are battling, it's the flies, fleas or SNAKES! Oh my lordy...the snakes...that's a story for another time...stay safe out there!

Happy Trails,

Leah