WOODCHUCKS, MILEAGE, AND SOCIAL ENGINEERING

APROPOS of nothing much...I caught sight of my friendly woodchuck today, keeping to his allotted corner of the back garden. We have a visitor; a charming red cardinal. I think he may be somewhat north of their usual realm.
GAS MILEAGE: For those who think metrically, my 29 mpg translates to 7.9 litres per 100 kilometers.
SOCIAL ENGINEERING: I met my friend Walt in the library last week. Walt lives in what used to be the general store in a small town about 15 miles east of Corning. He comes down to shop, work out at the Y, perhaps catch a meal at the local senior citizens' center, and check out books and newspapers at our excellent library in Corning. We are of an age and like to discuss the changes overtaking our society. We agreed that we may be entering one of the more dramatic times of change and societal adjustment and that this will be an interesting decade, to say the least.
Here are some straws in the wind...
The proportion of Caucasians (whites) compared with African Americans is beginning to increase in many US cities; apparently, they are moving in from the suburbs.
Because US motorists are driving less miles as gas prices remain around $4 or more per gallon, the Federal Government is collecting less tax designated for the maintenance of roads and bridges. A quarter of a million bridges in the US have been determined to need crucial repairs and there may not be enough money to get the work done.
A recent Washington Post article (This Time It Is Different, Sunday 27 July) drew attention to unheralded events. One was the notice given by Valero Oil to its US refineries that it will reduce supplies of crude by 15%, necessary as the production of oil diminishes in Mexico. The other was the announcement by Tara Motors (India) that it plans to begin production of its mini-car (the Nano) later this year, hoping eventually to produce a million cars for Indians drivers each year. If this transpires it will boost exponentially India's consumption of motor fuel at a time when oil supplies worldwide are like to be beginning to diminish. Since demand is driving the rising cost of oil, this ought to be a 'wake up call' in respect to gas prices over the next decade.
Rising fuel costs will bring about a re-engineering of American society. Already folk are leaving the 'exburbs' and returning to the inner cities in order to reduce commute times and costs. Shopping mall parking lots seem less occupied; it may be that Amazon's recent increase in profits has to do with it being cheaper to purchase online than to drive to the mall.
Few of us, unless we have really read up on the history of the flight of Americans (and Australians) from the cities to the suburbs, understand that our culture (the large motor car, the large house in the distant suburb, the large centralized schools and their school bus fleets, cheap goods available from the large supermarkets with huge item-delivery miles from original site of production to point of sale, and the gargantuan food industry are all based on and made possible by cheap motor fuels and the huge influence of the motor manufacturing companies.
It looks as if we will be 'blessed' with interesting times as the price of energy continues to rise and we make what may be for many very painful changes. Hold on for the ride!

JULY ROUND UP

HMMMM....ALMOST THREE WEEKS since my last post.
UPDATES:
The Woodchucks: I went to work on the garden shed, another lair for the woodchucks, using the same technique as for the window box. I left one small bolt hole pending the arrival of the one way excluder I had ordered (who wants to trap an animal under the garden shed?). I managed to get all this done before the onset of the amazingly humid, thunder stormy weather we have had for the last week or so. This leaves them one set of burrows in the corner of the rear garden. I have not seen any of my friends since so I conclude that I have deprived them of convenient bolt holes and they are now appearing in my neighbors' gardens.
The Garden: Apart from the regular mowing, I have now two reasonably sized tomato plants safe behind netting. A new compost heap warmly grows. My compost from last year has turned out well and has been used for some planting. Going to Australia in May was a tactical mistake in terms of gardening as I am well behind in what I might have achieved had I been working during the onset of Spring.
The Motor Scooter: We had a bit of a slip up getting my driving test done so we are a bit behind on that project. I ride it around the back yard and sometimes convince Uma to do the same. She is improving each time she ventures her hand at it. My test on on the last day of this month; after that, I will be able to supervise Uma on the road.
Fuel Economy: As a result of disciplined concentration each time I drive, I have managed to lift the overall consumption of my ageing Infiniti G20 to just over 29 mpg since my last check.
Local Scene: For the last three years or so Painted Post/Corning has been the focus of a complicated road works project, the construction of a new highway interchange. I shudder to think what this may have cost (but thank you, Hilary Clinton, for this bit of pork barreling) but now it is nearing an end. Uma and I have made bets on the date of the completion of the last components which will eliminate all the detours and inconvenience of the extensive road works just past the bottom of our street. It is just about all done and it will save quite a bit of fuel just to be able to go directly to downtown Corning. The purpose of the interchange is to facilitate access to Painted Post and Corning from off the main highways to Rochester and Jamestown to the north and Pittsburgh and Washington to the south. Of course, the roadworks have occasioned the opposite to the detriment of local businesses. Everyone will cheer, Hooray, when it is finally done.
Congratulations: to my friend Pete Libby who completed the 200 mile or so ride from Seattle to Portland in one day on July12...his second time to do it on one day. Pete, and two friends, and I did the ride last year. I left them , after 135 miles, to complete the ride in one day and can attest to the considerable feeling of accomplishment that results from the adventure. All this pales in comparison with the riders in the Tour de France, currently nearing completion. Those guys are supermen on bikes!

NOT GROUNDHOG'S DAY

HOW APPOSITE THAT, on July Fourth and today, I have been striking a blow for independence from Groundhogs. This is just to keep you up to date on the struggle...
I was worried that our groundhogs/woodchucks have been making a home in the floorspace under the living room window. Yesterday, I dug the earth away (after cutting back the brier rose bushes so that I could do the work). This revealed that their ingress was limited to a temporary burrow under the window box; quite a relief, I can tell you! They have now been barred from that space by netting and here are two pictures to show you have I have gone about the job.

You can see how the netting gets tucked into the siding at the ends. I then replace the earth, making sure that it slopes away from wall. If the woodchuck attempts to return it will be standing on the netting which juts out about 15 inches. I just have to make sure there is no occupant when I close up the ends.

Woodchucks appear to be opportunistic burrowers and not as serious as Aussie rabbits are when it comes to burrows.

They have another burrow under the garden shed and I think there is a more permanent set up in the far corner of the garden where there are lots of bushes and plenty of cover. I plan to tackle the garden shed next. I thought you might like to see my favorite woodchuck; more like woodchugalug.
This is not such a bad brew...only 4% alcohol so it is really quite sweet compared with the 10% hard stuff to which I am accustomed. Maybe it is because I bought it at the supermarket. In NY State, the supermarkets cannot sell anything more alcoholic than beer.

After I took this picture of the little woodchuck tucking into a pear I was out on the back deck recovering from all the digging (with aide of a beer) and what did I spy down at the bottom of the yard but two woodchucks...the regular old guy and his new consort. I think they have one or two young ones.

They do not live together, mum and dad, but seem to spend a lot of time visiting.

Here are a couple of pictures of the lucky couple.

SURROUNDED BY GROUNDHOGS

I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THAT there was a time when I did not know what a groundhog aka woodchuck was. Now I am surrounded by them! Three live under the shed at one corner of the back yard while another lives amidst bushes in the other. Besides, I have at least two who have invaded the crawl space under the living room floor. I know this because I have heard them above me while working in the basement and, of course, there are two burrow holes under the living room window box.
My neighbor across the street, Gene, has around six on his count. NY Times (in an article entitled 'Peter Rabbit Must Die') reported that one woman who resorted to shooting woodchucks in her garden killed 18 while the 19th committed suicide by running in front of a car! They come out in the morning and evening to feast on grass and favorite plants (especially the ones we like). I have learned a lot about these relatively harmless critters; there is a lot about them on the 'Net. One thing is...it is almost impossible to remove them long term. Personally, I am adopting a 'live and let live' philosophy in regard to them. They are pretty fellows and not ungenerous since they allow other critters like rabbits and chipmunks to share their burrows. It is a pleasure to watch them at their fastidious eating. On any drive around town it is possible to see two or three going about their business in an open lot. There are a lot of them...at least six for each human I would guess.
Two of our woodchuck burrows are host to several rabbits and their little ones.
On the credit side, at least one can fence them out of garden beds; plus they love dandelions so, with the rise in the woodchuck population, we see fewer dandelions. For the time being at least, the local woodchucks have foiled the evident plan of the dandelion clan to take over the world.
If you remove them from their burrow and transport them elsewhere (at least five miles distant)
others will take their place unless you woodchuck-proof their burrow. Bad smells do not deter them, unlike deer, although there may be a nasty tasting substance you can spray on plants you do not wish to donate to the 'save your hungry woodchuck' cause.
I plan to install netting beneath the window box and the shed so they cannot re-enter their lair after I have evicted them. To get them out, I have ordered a one way 'trap' which will let them out but prevent their return. Once I am sure all have gone from the burrows, I will complete the netting barriers. I reckon it will take me two or three weeks to accomplish this.
I will report progress (or regress) from time to time.
In the meantime, anyone who has success in controlling woodchucks, please contribute your ideas. I hope to photograph one of the locals so...watch this space.
Roberto