Ferreting

As I was planting the saplings in the fence row this week I couldn't help but notice the many woodchuck holes all around me. There seemed to be a hole every few feet that I would almost step in. I told Jim about them later that evening and suggested he let Fritz, one of our 3 ferrets, ferret the varmints out. We discussed the pros and cons and decided that out of all of them, Fritz is the ferret with the strongest hunting instincts.

This winter, Fritz killed two mice for us and earned the title of "Mouse Killer". At 5 years old, he is the second oldest. He's also the strongest and seems to be more in tune with his "inner weasel" than the others.

Jim took Fritz out to the fence row today while I napped and let him run down the woodchuck holes. He said Fritz poked his head out of several holes but nothing flushed out of them. It was disappointing since those giant rats are very destructive, digging their burrows near drainage systems, tree roots and crops. My grandpa spent a considerable amount of his free time trying to keep them under control with his rifle.

Jim said he's going to wait a while then let Fritz try again. I'm sure that eventually he'll succeed in scaring those varmints out of their holes. I've seen Fritz in action and he is absolutely a killer when he wants to be. The photo shows him luxuriating on a lambskin at Christmastime. Don't let his sweet appearance fool you; he's still a weasel!