We keep a pile of clam and oyster shells behind our compost set-up, and it’s a big attraction for local varmints. About a week ago, we tossed out a particularly smelly pile of shells, many with adductor muscles or bits of body attached to them. I thought this would be a good opportunity to catch our visitors in the act, so I set up the VarmintCam.
Over the course of four days, the camera snapped 824 pictures, making our compost pile, I’m sure, the most photographed on the planet. Here’s what came to visit.
A raccon, something we seldom catch on film
An opossum, a frequent visitor
The squirrel went for the cantaloupe rinds
This could be the same chipmunk who lives in the raspberries
That's a wren, in the left foreground
I'm pretty sure that's a mouse -- the gray thing sticking up on the log
That is most definitely a rat
A rabbit, at the crack of dawn
And a crow, looking like something out of Edward Gorey
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Oh I LOVE Edward Gorey!
That was really fun, although you could probably bury the shells directly in your garden to better advantage than feeding wildlife (especially fucking raccoons, which I hates!!). I had a neighbor who would bury fish guts in his garden and he’d sprinkle wood ash over them first before covering them with earth to keep the raccoons from digging them up. He had the most amazing organic vegetable garden with dark brown, almost black soil. This is in Florida where the soil in the rest of our neighborhood was essentially sand. And my husband’s sister said that the year they had a load of crab shells dumped in the garden they had the most amazing garden afterward.
From everything I’ve read about soil fertility, it’s the trace elements from the sea that are missing the most. If I were you (and we agree I’m not) I’d skip letting that elusive stuff leach out in the compost pile and bury it directly under wood ash in your garden.
I on the other hand know nothing of composting strategies so am recommending a 22 rifle :-0
SBW
darn still no sasquatch…
V is for varmintcam catching the ‘coon
who choked on a clam by the light of the moon
Paula — Funny you should mention composting. I’m just trying to figure out how I might bring the garden up to speed, since it’s clearly lagging. But it’s hard to imagine all those little sharp shards in the soil. Perhaps seaweed is a reasonable substitute?
SB — Ah, yes. I have thought the same, especially in the case of the rabbit.
Rick — I keep waiting for that one photo that the tabloids will pay me millions for …
Jen — S is for Starving. It’s at its best when
The posts get the wittiest comments from Jen!