Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Armadillos are NOT Cute

All these years of coming to the ranch, I've seen armadillos and thought they were cute. They're mostly nocturnal animals that don't see very well, though they have a very keen sense of smell. Which means, if you're downwind of them, you can sometimes catch one.
This is from quite a few years back, but why the boy felt compelled to catch one (yes, he let it go), I will never understand. Kind of like climbing a mountain. Why? Because it's there. (Which will never be a good enough excuse for me)

Now that we're living here at the ranch, and most recently, I have come to a very different opinion of these little armored creatures. 
See this mess in what was one of my flowerbeds? 
And this one.
All of this trenching is the work of an armadillo looking for grubs and other bugs. So what if the pansies and snapdragons were almost spent, the little booger didn't have to uproot them. 

Well, hubby found Mr. Dillo's hole in the bushes, so we dumped a box of mothballs down there and sprinkled more throughout the beds. Remember what I said about them having a keen sense of smell. 

Then it was time to replant. With temps already in the 90's, we needed some summer color. This year, it's in the form of Vincas.
The nursery called these shades the Lipstick Blend.
And I'm happy to say that the mothballs worked, because the flowers have gone untouched for three days now. 

Last week I mentioned that it had been a  year since we started the renovations on my in-laws home, so I thought I share a couple before and after pics with you today.
Removing that brick wall at the front that was used to create a courtyard was priority number one and, boy, are we glad we did. Not only do we have a space we utilize now, all those windows finally have views of the great outdoors which brightened up the inside of the house, too. It was a win-win all around. 

Unlike Mr. Dillo. But I am not sorry to see him go. He has plenty of space to tear things up in the woods without terrorizing my yard.

Now it's your turn. What type of flowers will you be planting this year? What is your favorite?


Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children, two dogs and countless cattle. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com.

6 comments:

  1. We saw a few armadillos when we lived in Texas, but most of them were "sleeping" by the side of the road. One of our native Texas friends told us that armadillos react to danger by jumping straight up about three feet in the air...not a good thing when the danger is an eighteen-wheeler!

    Of course, our friend might have been having fun telling a few tall-tales to the Yankees. :-)

    Your vincas are beautiful! The year we sold our house in Texas, I planted the front flower bed with vincas, and they were gorgeous! I wish I had done it during the previous summers...but babies intervened. (I'd rather have babies than flowers any day!)

    Your "after" pictures are beautiful, too. The house was lovely before, but you've updated it and made it your own! I know you love it, too!

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    1. Jan, Vincas are my favorite heat-tolerant flower. I like petunias, too, but they just don't like to bloom as much in the heat. I can't imagine why. So Vincas it is.

      I've never seen an armadillo jump, however I have seen one toss dirt at my husband when he tried to catch it when the boys were little. Served him right.

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  2. Mindy, my pansies (planted in the fall) are starting to look a little puny. It's time for my summer flowers. I usually do petunias. I love the dark purple!

    Thanks for the photos of your house! I love what you did with the courtyard.

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    1. Missy, I have a huge pot of purple petunias, light and dark. Did you know they're the only color of petunia that has fragrance? I just learned that. They don't do as well in the ground her, though.

      We love our new deck. Just needs a little more furniture.

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  3. They just like rabbits will reek havoc on plants but are a cool animal to watch maybe not as cute as a rabbit but still a cool animal. Glad you found a way to keep them away from the flowers.

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    1. Kim, I didn't mind armadillos so much until one tore up the flowerbeds. As long as they stay away, they shall remain in my good graces. And yes, I'm glad the mothballs worked.

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