Thursday, March 10, 2011

Moles and Daffodils

We went out into the garden this morning to find little mole tunnels throughout the lawn in the backyard. It needed aerating anyway, and the moles, as carnivores, keep down the population of insects(larvae) and slugs. My cat catches his fair share in the summer when they come up and away from the dry soil.

Enchanted Learning had a nice "Label the Mole" printout of a mole, and I've gone online to reserve a few library books about moles for my daughter.

Children's fact sheet about moles

I had no idea they were once prized for their pelts, as an aristocratic fur."Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward the Seventh, ordered a mole-fur garment in order to start a fashion that would create a demand for mole fur, thereby turning what had been a serious pest problem in Scotland into a lucrative industry for the country. Hundreds of pelts are cut into rectangles and sewn together to make a coat. The natural color is taupe, but it is readily dyed any color."

Some of our daffodils after this morning's rain.

3 comments:

Myrnie said...

Daffys already? Beautiful! I've never heard of anyone wearing moles....wonder if it will catch on again? :)

Otter Mom said...

Our daffodils and tulips are just starting to come up, it's going to be a little while before they bloom. We enjoy checking on them every day or so, and it's always fun to see the first bud or bloom.

I had no idea that mole pelts could be worn. We have a serious problem with moles and gophers, the dogs get quite a few but they never seem to stop. We had to move our tulip bed because they destroyed it one year (gophers, not dogs!). It's now in an area that has deep concrete sides so they can't get in as easily.

Elizabeth said...

Your cat could catch them and you could sell their pelts - ha!