Of Mice and Men.....................

Apodemus Sylvaticus was the culprit!... He sneaked in under cover of darkness and made free with another man's property...namely all my broad bean seeds. The thief is of course more commonly known as the Woodmouse, or Long Tailed Fieldmouse, but calling him “Apodemus” seems to personify the little villain quite nicely. Of the four rows of Aqua Dulce beans I planted in November, the mouse, or mice, have had all but one single, solitary bean. To add insult to injury, on either side of my plot, my neighbours’ beans grow unmolested and proud... Why was I singled out?...Were my seeds more delicious in some way?

All I have to show for my hard work are rows of regularly excavated little pits, that appeared over the Christmas period. I know we a like all good “beanfeast” at that time of year, but this is rather taking things too far I feel. A new replacement sowing is underway in pots in the cold frame (suitably rodent proofed) so in the end all that is lost is time and patience. However, if anyone can advise on how to avoid this unhappy occurrence in future, then I'll be delighted to hear from you…I will need to plant peas soon and the fat, happy mice will probably be breeding!