Gardens attract all sorts of critters, and some will eat the plants.

Being realistic about what one is prepared to let go of helps avoid feeling deprived or resentful.

Sometimes simple boundaries like fences or wire cages make a large difference.

The clump of daisies stands round and tall. Its green leaves shine and shimmer in the breeze. Small but swelling buds—white buttons rimmed with green—top each stem. They’re almost ready to bloom. Thrilling with anticipation, I imagine the cloud of happy flowers: my daisies will delight me.

At the same time, I’m trying to prepare myself to let them go. Fuzz Face the woodchuck who lives under the shed might eat them. One day last summer I saw that all of the daisies were blooming. The next morning, every blossom was gone. They’d grown tall enough that only a large animal could have reached them.

Now the daisies are back, making a clump even larger than before. Their buds grow fatter every day. I checked this morning and again this afternoon to see if they’d popped. Not yet.

I refer to Fuzz Face as "he," but in fact I have no idea if the woodchuck this year is a "he" or a "she," and I don’t know if he’s the same one from last year. In fact, the woodchuck I saw yesterday looked smaller than I thought the one last week appeared. It may be a whole family. A few years........

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