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Books About Life on a Farm Written Especially for People Who Like to Read! "Highly recommended reading." The Midwest Book Review Reviews & Readers' Comments |
LeAnn R. Ralph Rural Route 2 Author E6689 970th Ave. Colfax, WI 54730 (715) 308-6336 |
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by LeAnn R. Ralph When my husband and I moved back to my hometown in west central Wisconsin, I wasn't prepared to encounter pocket gophers. The southern part of the state where I lived for more than ten years (near the Kettle Moraine State Forest) does not seem to blessed with pocket gophers -- or perhaps cursed is a better word... I had forgotten that the pesky gray-brown critters pile dirt on the surface. And that one pocket gopher can litter a nice, smooth lawn with large, unsightly mounds. Not to mention that mowing around gopher mounds is tedious work -- although running OVER the mounds is even worse because it dulls the blade, plus it creates an instant dust storm, with you in the center. No -- I hadn't given a moment's thought to pocket gophers in years and years. Not until a mound appeared in our lawn. "What's that?" my husband asked, pointing to a pile of dirt that had not been there the day before. "Pocket gopher," I explained. "In fact, they're such a problem around here, the townships will pay bounties for each one you catch." By the expression on my husband's face, I knew what he was thinking -- how could an animal possess the audacity, the unmitigated gall, to dig in HIS lawn? So, the next time we went to town, we bought a couple of gopher traps -- the kind you have to wear leather gloves while setting so if it accidentally springs, it won't spear your hand. Then I showed Randy how to locate the runs, dig out the hole and set the trap. Boy, did THAT bring back memories. As a kid, I used to traipse around our farm with my brother when he went out to check his traps. In those days I considered it high adventure to check gopher traps... In a little while, my husband had set his first trap. The next day, however, he discovered the gopher had merely filled in the hole. So, Randy set the trap again. And again. And then again. I lost count of the number of the times the pocket gopher filled in the hole and/or set off the trap -- without being caught. (I had forgotten, too, that pocket gophers can be pretty sneaky when it comes to avoiding traps.) Eventually Randy DID catch the first gopher that had started digging up our lawn. Then shortly thereafter, one of our dogs surprised a gopher in the backyard and chased it under the car. Since you very rarely see gophers above ground, I reported the incident to my husband. "Where's my shotgun!" he exclaimed. I didn't especially care for the glazed look in his eyes. Fortunately, the gopher didn't show his face again. Much to my relief. I was afraid for the car, seeing as it was parked near the open hole. In time my husband caught the gopher digging in the backyard, too. After his first victory with the gophers in the lawn, Randy continued trapping. By the time the ground froze, he had caught about 40 of them in all with only four traps, which is pretty good success rate, considering we only have a few acres. For those of you who are starting to feel sorry for the little grayish brown creatures with long front teeth and huge front claws, not to worry. There are hundreds of acres of abandoned land around us where no one bothers the pocket gophers and they can dig to their hearts' content -- just as long as they don't cross the line into my husband's territory. |
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