Buttercups in the lawn
But for how much longer?
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A package has arrived in the post. The replacement fuel pipe for the mower.
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Deep within the shed something is stirring..
and a Proof of Concept has emerged.
The hose will be sheathed in tightly coiled wire.
Flexible and slim enough to fit..
Hard enough to withstand the nibbling of little teeth.
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Perhaps we should just book all of the mice into The Priory for petrol addiction rehab.
It would save an awful lot of trouble.
ha ha had a lovely vision of lots of little mice turning up at the Priory with their suitcases! Almost seems a shame to cut those beautiful buttercups Julie x
Maybe the mice will like it there so much they won’t want to come back?
Well, that looks fool proof err…. I mean mouse proof! I don’t know about The Priory I think an appointment at the nearest dentist will be needed if they have a nibble at that:)
I thought the same about the squirrels and the industrial mesh on the feeder, but they still seem to be going strong..
I expect they’ll just snip them off and wear them as earrings
Then I shall go around with a very strong magnet and collect them all up..
Nah, not earrings – I think you’ll have lots of little Zebedee mice bouncing around the garden 😉
A magnet and a fishing net..
Can’t wait to see if it works. You should patent it.
The whole ensemble has now been wrapped in Duct Tape… we shall see.
Hope it works. If not, then I am sure your man will be able to come up with another plan to foil the eating habits of those darn mice! We have loads of wild flowers everywhere because it has been too wet for my man to mow all the greenery into submission!
I think he would rather be wrapping the wire around their jaws..
It sounds very pretty there, but I hope you get the promised hot weather to dry it all out!
Hahahaha…….you conjure a marvelous image of petrol drunken mice with tiny suitcases…..here’s hoping it survives their teeth.
I have to say I have a soft spot for buttercups!xxxx
The buttercups are lovely, but to Mike a lawn is grass. And buttercups are not grass!
The fields by me are full with buttercups this year, they could do with being mowed. Pesky shed mice here have nibbled through some fishing equipment.
They can be a real problem – and it is amazing what they will eat. The more expensive the better it seems 🙁
You’d think there were enough other things around for them to eat – petrol is surely an acquired taste!!
You would think so.. but they’ve now attacked every petrol driven piece of garden equipment we have.
How about fitting the mice with little mouth guards, like rugby players wear? That way they could still follow their instincts and have a little nosh, but they wouldn’t do any damage!!
You are too kind to them Denise..
Just discovered your blog, a late visitor after reading Jo from the Good Life’s recommendation. Came straight into this post and had to read back on previous posts to see what has been going on with the mower. Great blog!
Thanks Annie and welcome to rusty duck.
It’s turning into quite a saga isn’t it, and the latest in a long line at that.. 🙁
A simple but elegant solution!
Thanks Anne, I just hope it works…
Great idea….let’s hope the rats don’t get a taste for it though. I hear the only thing they can’t get through is that expanding spray foam stuff.
One day you will look down from the moor and see a huge spray foam dome appearing on the horizon. It will be me…
Did you manage to cut the grass before it started raining, or is the mower ready and waiting in the shed with only the mice for company!
Sarah x
No, the lawn will have to wait until it gets dry again, and I hope that’s not too long! The mower is back in the shed with the mice… but hopefully a petrol free night for them!! I have told them it’s better for their health that way.
The quality of your photos are sooooooo good.. I would dearl love you to officially photograph our flower show
Thank you John.
A couple of Auntie Glad’s scones is all it would take…
A couple of cats might discourage the mice?
We have a few owls.. I was hoping that would do the trick. But not yet!
I would book them a one way ticket to Australia!
Viv, I would book them a one way ticket ANYWHERE…
aw bless – little petrol heads going off to rehab !
Buttercups always amaze me how waxy they look in photos and yet are so delicate.
Buttercups warrant close inspection don’t they. I like them too.
It sounds like the Buttercups’ days are numbered – and they look beautiful in your photo, too. Sounds like the petrol-guzzling days for those mice are numbered as well.
There are always a few buttercups in the lawn.. just not quite as many as lately!!
If we could spend as much time growing and mowing as we do trying to defeat the wildlife we would be dealing with absolute abundances of everything and the place would be a whole lot neater. We solved the problem of our pipes being gnawed through by leaving the mower outside all Winter. It seems they only feast indoors down here.
It’s a great shame we can’t just negotiate with them.. live and let live would be fine by me!
I’m imagining the mice on their little laptops, ordering bolt cutters…….. x
As it happens, we are missing a pair of wire clippers… aarrgh!!
Lovely photo of the buttercups – a really nice mouse-eye view.
Thanks Elaine.
I hope the mice are enjoying them too… grrrr 🙂
I wonder what mice eat when they can’t get petrol …
I know Annie, we (may) have only won a battle…
I wonder what mice ate before there were humans?
Can they not nibble between the wire? – not that I am trying to give them any ideas!
No, please don’t give them ideas!
On the pipe that actually went into the mower, Mike packed the wire really tight.. I hope they will find it difficult. But impossible? One thing is for sure, they will do their very best to find out!
Hello, Jo from The Good Life recommended your blog. I’ve been having a little look around, as you do when you find a new to you blog, I’m so pleased I visited and will be back.
Hi there and welcome to rusty duck!
Good luck with your veggies! we have had a very wet spring, so much so that fields are flooded and farmers are losing crops. I remember you having a very wet summer last year!
The weather is becoming a real problem. When you grow your own food you start to realise just how hard it can be for food producers.