Dad's Garden

Last week, I went to visit my parents. My dad has a pear tree, and this time of year they harvest bushels of them. But dad has been complaining that he's been finding lots of pears on the ground. Many fall to the ground from the wind, but many he said fall to the ground because of squirrels. He would find a bunch of them with bite marks all over them. 

Because of the squirrels, dad has been harassing me to order him one of those squirrel repellents.  I ordered the one from Bell and Howell.  It's a solar powered device that creates a high frequency ultrasonic sound that is unpleasant to animals.  I have to say, for $40 (which includes the shipping) I was pretty skeptical about this device.  Dad and I put it in the ground, and I must say, we immediately saw a squirrel screech and run away.... I guess it works!  It says it works within a 30 feet radius, and if you have dogs or outdoor cats, they will not like the sound either.  Since my parents have neither, this will hopefully keep the squirrels at bay. I think I might have to pick up a few for my yard too.

Here's a look at the hairy gourd squash that dad is growing in his garden.  These are easily 3 pounders!  Dad gave me some seedlings and I tried growing these this year, but I was unsuccessful.  Every single fruit that formed wasn't pollinated correctly and died.  Darn!  Dad definitely has the magic touch because his are beautiful!  Whenever I visit dad, it's a constant reminder of how I definitely got the gardening gene from him!