The boubou is singing from the boughs of the bougainvillea and the double-collared sunbird sips from the scarlet bottlebrush. But at my feet I survey the devastation caused by a visit from the guinea fowl. It has pecked away at every leaf on the peas I planted last week, and scratched away at the soil around the neat rows of onions waiting to establish themselves for the long growing period through winter. It is probably a partner in crime with the porcupine, who helped himself to my spinach a while back. That is growing back apace, but all can be whipped away in the night without warning. It's only a matter of time before the baboon troops return, although they are currently in limbo without the alpha males which have been 'culled' as a restraining measure - how foolish Man is to selfishly destroy anything that irks him.
Many of us want to make ourselves less reliant on the foods that are produced commercially by growing out own vegetables and fruits, and a great deal of time, money and effort goes into setting up a vegetable patch or orchard. We have to accept that the local wildlife is going to make inroads just when we think we are ahead, and for those of us who live in the urban fringe, there is very little that can be done to deter them. Obviously, killing them is no solution, and besides, it is not good for our journey here on Earth. Sturdy wire fencing (too thick for a porcupine to bite) is surely the only answer.
Perhaps I will try that.
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