Ben by Daniel Shelton for April 11, 2024

Plant daffodils – they taint the soil. Then you can plant tulips and not worry about the squirrels.

I’ve noticed a lot of squirrels in the comics lately. Just a sign of spring?

The squirrels in my area are so bad, they chewed threw the plastic garbage cans. When I order groceries delivered, I have to make sure and get them right away or they eat my cookies!

Is this a thing – that squirrels attack tulips. If so, we must be lucky then as we have quite a few squirrels near us but our tulips are untouched. The biggest problem we have is with slugs and snails. We’ve given up trying to grow hostas.

Yes, it is. They are after the bulbs more than the flowers. Once you have flowers, they are less likely to bother them.

I gave up on tulips. Between the squirrels digging them up, and the deer eating the buds, why bother? Twenty years ago we bought a new build near Chicago, where the developer had hauled away all of the topsoil. Because we moved in the autumn, we had 7 inches of top soil delivered, and established several flower beds, as well as a sod lawn. In one of the beds I threw down 300 tulip bulbs, of all colors, and had the crew then just top them off with the new soil. I then put in plugs of autumn joy sedum around the bulbs. I was hoping to recreate my granny’s “jellybean” bed that she planted every 3 years. All was going great in April, until I came home from work on my birthday to find that every. single. tulip. bud. was. gone. My neighbor later told me that she sat in her living room and laughed as a herd of 15 deer came out in broad daylight to eat them, finishing them off in under 3 minutes. Gah.

remember it’s @ before # except after $

Attagirl………

But look at the exercise you’re getting.

Liv, such language, this is a family strip. Who am I kidding, hear how the kids talk lately, an Army drill sargeant couldn’t compete.

Powerful air rifle (very quiet) plus nuisance squirrels equals fried squirrel.

What language Liv!