Clipe. Agreed, but I did not know they were grey squirrels in disguise. Furthermore many people passing through the park fed them and that park was the only place I ever saw them. I don't regret feeding them, doing so was a very pleasant interlude during a dark period in my life.
I hate to admit it, but I enjoy watching the occasional grey squirrel that traverses our current town garden, although I never feed them. We have given up the pleasure of feeding wild birds (neighbours still do), which also sometimes attracted squirrels, so as not to encourage rats which infested our roof space last autumn.
I know people and organizations encourage us to consider squirrels as vermin, as rats with bushy tails, but I never could. If I see a squirrel, and I can, I have to watch it. I could never shoot one. But then I was a city boy.

In Toronto, grey squirrels have black lustrous fur. I would feed them on the way to my office...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we sting their butts with pellet guns. Feeding them is dumb, dumb, dumb.

Pcar/golf charlie
I'm committed to onions for this year, and was planning more exotic varieties from seed next year. The mice must have always been there as you say. Being in the country there is always evidence of eaten hazelnuts and so on but I can't say I noticed anything this year. I'm still thinking it was hunger that started the problem, another factor could have been waterlogging forcing them into restricted areas or an increase in stray cats which a resident has encouraged by putting food out. Mice keeping out out cats way and tasting of onion might be natural selection at work! There has been an increase in the number of strays from an odd one to 3 or 4 now. Ultrasonic thingy might solve both problems.

Iran is still actively seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction according to a German intelligence report in direct contradiction to Angela Merkel's belief that the 2015 atomic deal with the Islamic Republic ended Tehran's nuclear weapons ambitions. IF YOU BELIEVED THAT YOU MUST BELIEVE IN FLYING PIGS. ... but then maybe Angela does...

is Merkel suffering from a cognition problem?

Jul 22, 2018 at 10:04 PM | Uibhist a Tuath

For any form of pest, human or otherwise, there will always be favoured and less favoured foods, whether they are best for overall health or not.

If Field Mice were always present, what did they prefer to eat in previous years, that was not available this year?

On the Hampshire Downs, 2018 was noticeable for the periods of snow, and consecutive days without temperatures rising above 0°C. The garden daffodils flowered, but not brilliantly, the wild garlic and bluebells in adjacent woods were not spectacular, nor were the tree blossoms. If fruit crops are poor this year, the drought will be blamed, and the late frosts forgotten.

I have scarcely seen hedgehogs this year, badgers are down, foxes and deer up. I have tried to zero-in the air rifle. The air rifle is fine, I just can't shoot straight. Rabbits have invaded, and the local foxes have been negligent in allowing their numbers to rise.

Rats were a big problem last winter, dealt with by shop bought rat poison, that was banned from sale as of April 2018, and I have very little left. High velocity lead poisoning is my only option, should rats reappear, but I need some form of steadying bipod mount, or high density bean bag, as my aim is currently Junckered.

Jul 22, 2018 at 7:51 PM | Supertroll

US and UK Law are completely different! Does the US even have Planning Law?

The UK's Green Taliban have obstructed exploratory drilling and associated work, to assess the potential for Fracking. This Permitted Development is for exploratory drilling, not for commercial extraction of shale gas.

If you go back 20(?) years ago, every mobile phone mast could be objected to under the Planning process. Then things changed with a simple change in Government wording, that meant there had to be exceptional circumstances to object. Wind turbines got a simiar free pass. Now, Exploratory Drilling for Fracking Survey purposes will get the same.

UK Planning Law does cover almost all development. It is generally administered and enforced by LOCAL Government, not Central Government or County Councils, and the public underestimate how powerful it can be as a political power. The Green Blob have been very "astute" about influencing Planning Committees, especially when they have no elected representation at all.