MOLES AND MOWING

A number of readers have asked me what has happened to the moles. I have been asking myself the same question, since they have been absent for much of the winter.

I think the main reason is that the water table has been so high, a result of the unusually mild weather. Moles don't like damp ground, which is not surprising, and there have been a lot of soggy lawns around the house. I know that there has been a mole in the wood, since he merrily makes some of the largest molehills I have ever seen. But I've no problem with him running around in there, just so long as he doesn't attack my lawn. Over the past couple of days, he has been coming closer, so I have set up a couple of traps. Let's see how he copes with them.

Today I got my lawnmower out of the barn and did my first mow of the year. I know it's early, but my mother-in-law - whose view on this matter I respect - says that grass grows at 7 degrees centrigrade, and it's been much higher than that here in Denmark this week. It was not a serious mow, more a kind of "wake up, winter's finished" message. And yes, it was very satisfying.

Walter Blotscher