I got my stumps ground down yesterday. My good neighbor does that. He wouldn't even take pay for it. After the big machine ground and tilled and mulched the spot where three diseased Red Bay trees once were, I realized that such nice soil would grow things. What to plant? Tomatoes? Water melons? Maybe a tree, like Japanese Plum? Then as I gazed and pondered, I saw movement down in my yard.

It was a fairly large creature, bigger than a squirrel or rabbit. It was around this area some place.

I crept up slowly, the wind in my face, but I saw nothing running away. Then I heard a sound. Looks like my little racoon friend from last year still lives in this hollow palm tree. Or maybe it is another one. Look closely, and you will see him peering out at me.

Which brings me back to the original question. What shall I plant? My yard is an expressway for raccoons every night. My neighbor on one side catches injured or orphaned raccoons and raises then to health. She feeds the raccoons every evening. My neighbor on the other side traps them and relocates them. They would ravage my garden for sure. And if I shoot them, Sissy will be mad at me for killing her varmints. And the other neighbor, the gun hater, will be mad at me for shooting. Maybe that plum tree is the way to go. If it gets down to survival, I'd prefer meat to vegetables anyway.

That is cool that you have a visitor like that. Are racoons good for keeping other animals/pests away?

They will sometimes kill and eat snakes. They are omnivores, like us. But they can decimate a garden overnight. They are good to eat, but I don't know how to properly prepare them. The local black folks know how, or at least the old timers do. The old lady that I knew who cooked them so well has passed away. I kind of enjoy all the wildlife here, but I would like to grow something. I love home grown tomatoes. Decisions, decisions. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Vic, you should grow some potatos. There are lots of awesome potatos that are easy to grow, and the above ground foliage of the potato plant is poisonous to most animals, so the raccoons won't be a probelm.

I would recommend Red norlands, yukon Golds, Gold Rush, Red Pontiacs. There are lots of others. Fresh home grown potatos are WAY better than store bought.

SWEET TATERS!!!!


Yum, wanna bake me one up in some campfire coals now....

Taters and maters! I am hungry now. I remember my grandfather talking about eating coon. I just don't know.

Coon is great smoked and chopped up into BBQ. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I have several friends with coondogs that sell what they kill to some of the oldtimers. They skin em but have to make sure they leave one foot attached. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> Seems unscrupulous coon dealers have tried to slip in a cat or two. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

I appreciate the ideas, guys. Red potatoes do well here. Dad used to grow them. My neighbor with the tractor offered to plow me up a garden patch. I may just plant a few taters near the tree I just planted. It's a Japanese Plum. They do well here. One of my girls, and I forget which one, used to eat them off Mom's tree. I figure, I lost too many trees and need to replace some of them.


I wonder if this varmint will eat plums?

Great pics, Vic. Potatoes sound good. Around here I have to make sure there's no pet food out at night or the coons are quick to find out and pay me a visit. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Just to beat Andy's reply<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zracoon.html

hah!

andy would have posted seven links.