Yesterday, while doing a bit of gardening, I discovered that we were the victims of a theft! Some insidious being had snuck into the backyard during the night and decimated our veggie patch.
Now that may not seem much to you, but I loved those little plants. Admittedly I planned to eat them eventually, but I considered them my babies while still growing. I’d carefully nurtured the bok choy, monitored the sprouts’ growth and tended to the cauliflowers’ every need.
My once flourishing flora-babies were now little more than flora-stumps – at least the few that remained!
Who would perpetrate such a despicable act? I had to find out. Maybe there were clues?
Clue 1: Da hole
It might be a little difficult to see in the photo but the first thing I found was a hole that had been dug out beneath the back wire fence. It was about 40 cm across. Seems the thief chose an alternative route to the gate that happened to be right beside this spot. Hmmm…
Clue 2: Eww, square poo!
Sorry about this image; it’s a bit gross. The second clue was the poo that I discovered not far from the veggie patch. And not any old poo – this poo was cube-shaped. Weird or what?
What do the clues mean?
I think I have enough info to work out who the culprit was. Let’s take a look at what I know so far:
1. Nocturnal raiding
2. Likely to be vegetarian
2. Digging to gain entry
3. Fits through a 40 cm space
4. Cubed poop
At first I thought it might be rabbits. They fit the bill except they don’t have cubed poop.
However there is one nocturnal, Australian marsupial that is vegetarian, likes digging, can fit through 40 cm gaps when not yet fully grown and produces square poop. It’s pretty obvious really – our thief was a …
Mystery solved
Now that I’ve worked out a wombat was to blame I’m okay about my much-loved veggies being sacrificed – well, sort of! I wonder if this hungry wombat has ever come across Eddie, our echidna during his travels?
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