Take that!

Bought and installed a "Sprayaway" which, as it says on the box, is a "motion activated water repellent" to deter "vermin". Bet you can't guess which particular vermin this is aimed at! And if any passing cats get in the way then I'm sorry, guys, OK? I wasn't aiming it at you! Although I'm not a big fan of cats' poo it's actually much easier to deal with than that of foxes (the things you read about, eh?!) - the former at least usually dig a bit of a hole and try to bury it (so the damage they do is incidental to their toilet habits) whereas the latter just do what they like where they like and the consistency of what they leave is gross and the smell is indescribably vile.

After attaching this thing (it's battery operated so much more reliable than solar and not as dangerous as mains) to the hosepipe you simply stick it in the ground, adjust the range and height and wait for results. And I have to say that it's been in use for two days now in two different parts of the garden to keep the b*st*rds confused and, touch wood, I've found no evidence so far of any visits last night. Mind you, you never know though - the other morning I found that one had actually climbed on top of a patio trough to crap on the lobelias. Charming creatures, aren't they?! Anyway, setting this thing up was great fun because you have to test the sensor by moving about in front of it and getting thoroughly soaked - wish I'd had one when the kids were younger and using their paddling pool, would have saved me hours of standing around squirting them with the hose. Maybe I should unleash my entrepreunerial spirit by marketing these things as toys! I bought my Sprayaway from a company based in Hartlepool called Pest-Products and they gave absolutely brilliant service - best price I found by about £5 and free delivery which took only two days. Marvellous! And while I'm recommending people, another company which has given me excellent service is PowerBee - they provided my solar fountain and the foxes actually bit through the cable between the battery and the solar panel. I rang to get a replacement unit and they simply said I should patch it up with electrical tape and it should work fine. I did and it does, so bless you PowerBee!

In last week's blog I reported that my October work had been deferred to February. Well, it's now been deferred for good because I've decided not to pursue my interest with that company. It's clear that they'd launched a new product on the market too soon and that this had created big problems for them. Why I was the one having to suffer for this I don't know (remember that I haven't done any delivery for them at all) and given my experience and skills I don't really think I need to prove myself by working unpaid for five or six sessions. One or two, yes, - observe, co-deliver, deliver usually seems to work OK - but that's just taking the proverbial. So now, to borrow an expression from the world of acting, I'm "resting" for the summer. I would be able to rest if only the foxes would leave me alone ......

So now, it's back out to the garden to do a bit of fencing.