Devastation… :-(

I woke to a beautiful morning a couple days ago.  Got up early and went out on the deck to water all the various plants.  Looking forward to greeting the day with a cup of tea while checking out the progress of my deck garden.  And what did I find???  Smashed and trampled Purple Ruffles Basil plants!  :-(  I was so sad.  This is the second batch I had planted (the first set was still okay) and they were just really taking off. 

What happened??

The telltale signs were nearby….  the water dish I leave out for the boys, Spike and Butch, was full of mud and debris.  That could only mean one thing. 

Raccoons

Raccoons dig in the grass and soil to find grubs to eat.  But they like to wash them before they eat them and they will also wash their hands and faces – they are neat little devil animals.  Mean as can be if cornered, cute as can be when they are not.  I often see them crossing the backyard at night.  And even more often find the signs of their visits – either in the water dish or in the torn out bunches of grass lying around.  But I’ve never had them actually dig through any of the planters on my deck before!  Dang little devils! 

This story has a happy ending though.  The plants were so young that they were very flexible so they weren’t permanently damaged.  I propped them up, firmed up the soil around the roots and watered them in.  Today they are looking nearly as good as new.  Phew!