Garden Wars

Zzzzzzzzz, the electric drill sound rattles throughout the casita. A worker greets me as he runs upstairs to retrieve a ladder.

I smell food but Bill assures me is only because he is warming chili he made last evening. My fears about a burning object atop the stove have been alleviated, an act I could see happening easily as he supervises the recently arrived electricians.

Who is at fault for us having more workers here and more disruption in our daily lives?

Squirrels, that’s who! Squirrels.

Two days ago I discovered they had eaten several of the leaves on one of the roses. A month ago they snagged strawberries ready to be covered in chocolate and served for dessert. I bought a healthy mint plant, supposedly a deterrent to wasps and squirrels, placing it near the roses. Bill’s solution was to install a motion detection system so off he went on another excuse to visit his favorite SMA location, the ferreteria, or hardware store as it would be called in the USA.

I remind myself again to Google squirrel recipes, especially those made with the Instapot. Surely some enterprising cook has posted some, maybe with cardamom, allspice, not found easily here.

Bill began the motion detection system installation only to hear sizzling in the shared bodega (storage area). For some reason, the master switch was not tripped, resulting in the entire lighting system for our neighbor, Memo’s, house, being taken out. The good news is that Memo is away in Mexico City and not…