Mom And Son Accused Of Stealing Gopher Feet.
Well. Ok, nearly $5,000.00 worth of frozen gopher feet. Pocket gophers, to be exact; if you ever wondered where the pockets are; they're right there in the photo- and they use them to carry seeds and roots back to the tunnels; seriously destructive.
This, incidentally, is right in my backyard; no, I don't know these folks (whew!) but it would easily be possible; Preston is a town we are in and out of all the time.
And, I have to sympathize with the victim- we have gopher wars here constantly; they're tree killers. The bounty on their front claws is a slight remuneration for the trouble of catching them.
On the other hand, I've got personal experience with professional gopher trappers; we tried to get some to help us out. But. They like to leave a few untrapped; for seed. Gophers are their crop- no, they don't want them wiped out. The bounty can help when it pays the local kids a few extra bucks for going after them- but the pros just give the illusion of control. And cost money.
Still here; in between downpours; the work year on the farm is goofed up by the late, late winter, followed immediately by summer; spring lasted about 3 days, I think. Overworked.
Oh, and- are you aware- they year is half over, this Friday? Summer solstice. Yep, we'll have the bonfire/picnic, and I'd love it if you join us on your own places around the world. But it's all kind of last minute/out of breath/ on the fly this year.
I'll be back!