Customer Reviews

Wildlife in the Garden, Expanded Edition: How to Live in Harmony with Deer, Raccoons, Rabbits, Crows, and Other Pesky Creatures

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2 star:		(1)
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I appreciate Mr.Logsdon's writing abililty. In fact, I was enjoying the book immensely until I got to the part about killing the raccoon, which happens to be the animal I wanted to learn to get along with. I think the title is very misleading. I wanted to know how to get along with my backyard neighbors, and not by killing them. To top it all, he actually gave recipes for raccoon dishes. Like I said, it was quite enjoyable until this part, but I feel there are much more pleasant ways to get along with our backyard neighbors. I don't offend easily, but this title does not fit the entire contents of the book.

Gene does a fine job wrestling with this immense topic. As a house owner on the remotest fringe of suburbia, I can attest to the accuracy of the observations in his book.

Wildlife in the Garden has many characteristics in common with Gene's other writing. Some of the most enjoyable lines are his observations on human nature. Another characteristic of Gene's writing is the density. He packs many observations, facts, vignettes in each essay. This is not pulp fiction that you can bolt down in an afternoon. It is best taken in small bites and savored. This book is likely to have a long tenure in our private Imhof memorial library.

Lest you think the book is perfect (By the way Gene, thanks for the check) I do have a few *minor* quibbles.

A bibliography would have been a fine addition.

Some of the material seems to be a bit elementary. Many people who are starting to landscape for wildlife want a paint-by-numbers approach. Gene probably had to do that to serve their needs.

Gene tends to be a bit emphatic about The Right Way To Do Things, but that will only bother the feeble-minded. (I won't let it bother me. I won't let it bother me. I won't let it bother me.)

This book was first published in 1983. Gene's writing style has changed in that time. The book reads more smoothly when taken in sips and nibbles. But that is perfectly OK because this is the kind of book that wants to be read slowly.

Let me emphasize that these are *minor* quibbles and I enjoyed the book.

(Final note for those who are hooked up to public sewerage, the septic tank was invented by an engineer named Imhof)

This book is organized in a unique way. . it isn't all fiction but is told by four fictional (but unforgettable) characters; the main one is Smith who has a wonderful backyard sanctuary, which includes a pond, trees, garden and meadows specifically maintained for wildlife. He is an ecologist and naturalist whose curiosity and good will towards all living things carries the book. Then there is the Dumb Farmer, a traditional but wise farmer who upholds the traditional values and ethics of someone who makes a living farming and living on the land. The Dumb Farmer is also a hunter, although a relatively ethical one. The Widow Lady lives nearby in a thicket of overgrown habitat and she brings the booklore from herbalists and practical living. She will and does eat just about everything and has natural cures for almost anything that ails you. Mr. White is Smith's neighbor and he has a typical suburban lawn. "Go ahead and kill the moles" Smith would remark peevishly (to White) "but don't come crying to me when slugs eat all your tomatoes."
But White confesses the moles ruin the look of his lawn. Smith points out that his lawn is greener than Whites and White retorts that is because he never mows it. "Precisely. And if you would quit trying to turn your lawn into a living room carpet, you wouldn't know you had moles either." Smith answers. Then there is the Beekeeper who knows more about bugs than anyone I have ever met. The stories are priceless and the characters are ones we know in our neighborhoods. The big issues like hunting and human encroachment of habitat are touched on throughout the book. The chapter called "When Wildlife Overpopulates" is full of ideas on mitigation. Although this book does not present the reader with the idea of restoring natural predators for the medium size mammals, there is plenty of useful and historic information in it. Even the chapter on "Human's Use of the Natural Food Web", which has 1959 recipes for raccoon, has information we might lose because people love the cute little buggers and are shocked that our ancestors used to hunt and eat them. In later chapters Smith gives ways of getting along with them. On the overall the book is for those who love animals and would see them thrive and the majority of advice is how to get along with them instead of eliminate them. The author did a tremendous amount of research, and the pitfalls of poisons and traps are explored in detail. For instance, the author details how to make a humane trap and how to catch pests and then you have a live animal you don't want in a cage. The reality of this situation is not touched on in other books which are sensitive. This book faces up to the fact that the trapper must then kill the animal. There are delightful chapters in the later half of the book on watching wildlife and wildlife adventures. This book should be kept on any gardener or naturalist's shelf for reference because there are specifics on building birdcages, birdfeeders, ponds, plant and bug relationships, lists of remedies and how successful each one is.