Prickly Porky Strikes Again!

Dear Diary,

On my walk around my little woodland at the back edge of my property I came across Prickly's latest activity. I'm sure it was a porcupine; it is the only critter around here who would munch on a tree like that. I posted a picture of the miscreant on August 10th. He is a cute little guy and I'm just glad it's a dead tree he's snacking on and not my potting shed!

Some of my neighbors would be getting the traps out right now but I try to live in harmony with my woodland neighbors as much as I can. We humans like to control everything and we think we have the right to impose our will on the landscape any way we choose. The older I get, the less inclined I am to agree with that. I thought of my old friend, Henry David Thoreau during my walk in the woods. He was so far ahead of his time...

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.