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.