b'The July GardenBy Bridgette CrosbyJ uly is the month of And then, suddenlymovementa small reddish heathumilityhumor.brown head with beady little eyes was staring at me Every once in a while I amfrom a hole. I didnt know what it was at first, but then reminded that despite my bestit struck methat little brown beastie that is the bane effort Mother Nature has herof golf courses, gardens, farms, and ranches across the own plan. As excited as I wascountrythe little brown beastie that loves to dig holes, for corn and tomato season, my July garden broughteat tree roots, destroy livelihoods, hopes and dreams something new. My best intentions to enjoy and devourwas now in my backyard, in my garden, and in my life.a late crop of corn, beans, and a bumper harvest of tomatoes were foiled by furry, four-footed thieves whoThe little beast disappeared down the hole, leaving me burrowed underneath the neighbors block fence andin a panicky state of mind. I squared my shoulders, invaded my vegetable paradise. grabbed my shovel, and started to dig. What was it? I had to know! I ran back to the house, dirt smeared In 20 years, I have never encountered the type ofacross my face, not caring that I was tracking dirt and damage that one or two furry invaders can bring to amud into my nice, clean house. I felt frazzled; I was home garden until now. Beasty little diggers that haveangry, upset, and outraged! How DARE that little beastie no respect for boundaries, planned harvests, hopes,come into MY garden? I grabbed supplies that were in dreams, and plans for days of bliss and home canning. Ithe garage for just such an occasion. There were traps, can almost see the little invaders munching away on mysmoke bombs, TNT, and a variety of other things. I had tomato plants, and agave roots, and savoring my beansmy arms full and as I ran past a mirror, I got a glimpse and sweet peas.of myself. I stopped, caught my breath, and looked in the mirror. I saw a deranged woman on the verge of madness staring back at me. I had sticks, leaves, and dirt in my hair, mud on my face, and a wicked gleam in my eye. My heart was pounding and I suddenly realized I was having my first official Caddyshack moment.So, the rest of the month will no doubt be full of little battles between me and the beasties. I am determined to win no matter the cost and in between digging holes and placing traps I will find the time to protect the rest of my tomatoes, harvest my apple and fig trees, bake apple pies, plant flower seeds, celebrate another birthday, and chalk it all up to the power of Mother Nature and her love of surprises. At least my native plants are blooming this summer and despite the beastie that has almost destroyed my 15-year-old blue agave, I am determined to save it as well. One morning I rose early to water, as I usually do, Otherwise, if you are not busy digging holes like me, and walked into the garden. I enjoy inspecting eachthe month of July is a great time to let your garden soil plant, making mental notes on progress, gently shakingrest through the heat of summer. Get ready to capture tomato plants to help pollination, and turning overas much monsoon rain as possible by creating sunken leaves to search for pestswhen suddenly I realizedgarden beds surrounded by earthen berms. This will a few tomato plants were missing. Several empty spotshelp capture and sink rainwater. You can also add remained where tall, bushy tomato plants had residedcompost, vermiculite, manure, and used coffee grounds last night.in order to start building up your soil for fall planting. And while you rest, sip on an icy beverage or two and Surely, I was not fully awake yet and missed something.remember Mother Nature loves a sense of humor. It was still pretty early in the morning, a little dark as the sun had not yet fully risen. I retreated to the porchHappy Digging! and refilled my cup of coffee, waiting for more light so I could redo my count. Perhaps I didnt sleep wellperhaps I was seeing things. I finished my coffee and once again walked into the garden. As I entered, I noticed a tomato plant was shakingthe whole plant vibrating and shaking violently, and as I watched in horror the entire tomato plant was sucked down into the earth and disappeared completely! I was taken by surprise and a string of unladylike words and colorful adjectives widely used by sailors emanated from my mouth. What the h-e-l-l just happened?!?! I bent over to inspect a large hole in the middle of my garden bed. I was outraged! What could this be? I traveled deeper into my garden and spotted two other holes where plants used to be. OMG, what the heck is happening, and what is causing this? Photos by Bridgette Crosby22 July 2023'