Jaki Jean & the Chupacabra, Part II

After doing some research, I have determined that the legend of the Chupacabra is fairly recent.  Having witnessed its devastation, I can tell you that its reputation as a goat sucker is well deserved, but limited.

The Chupacabra here in the swamp does not suck the life out of goats, but attempts to suck the life out of food bearing plants. 

It eats the leaves of Serrano pepper plants & green & red & yellow red pepper plants & jalapeño pepper plants & habanera plants & cherry tomato plants. The remains are nothing more than a skeleton of green stems.

Chupacabras here in the swamp even eat okra & budding Serrano peppers.  

But not basil or rosemary or thyme or oregano or sage or tarragon or cilantro or parsley or Mesculun greens.  

Apparently the Chupacabras in the swamp are picky suckers.

For months, I have watched the attempted annihilation of my pepper & cherry tomato plants.  The attack upon the okra growing amid the basil is fairly recent.

And then, as the last of the leaves on the Serrano pepper clung for life, I saw the Chupacabra eat them, devouring their leaves from the stems of the plant.  

 At last, the monster revealed.

The Chupacabra responsible for my loss of hot peppers & okra & tomatoes is:

Yes, a squirrel, that ruffle tailed rodent that people find so endearing until they have lived with generations of the plant sucking & seed stealing Chupacabras.  This villain & all of his / her relatives & ancestors have haunted me & attempted to destroy all food bearing life forms in Jack & Jean’s yard for thirty years.

But they are not winning.

The stems of my hanging Serrano pepper plant are producing new growth in spite of the assault against their productivity.  How long this will last as the weather in the swamp changes, I don’t know.  But I will encourage the growth.

As I plant our fall & winter garden, I am armed with a new weapon against the Chupacabra Squirrel Menace – Cayenne Pepper.  .  .

Of course the Chupacabra Squirrels on Dorrance Lane eat Serrano peppers.

But they have not yet been exposed to the power of leaves diligently & consistently drenched in Cayenne.

Unfortunately, the Chupacabras will not move on to Cayenne-free zones.  Once they mate in your yard, they return to mate again.  I have been witness to this insidious insistence at reproducing more ruffle tailed monsters for decades now.

Perhaps, the Chupacabras will enjoy a nice taste of an Oleander bush, free of Cayenne.

A woman can dream . . .