Yes, they’re at it again. The cinghiale, wild boar that live in our neighborhood.

Last week we discovered a few of those husky monsters early in the morning rooting around in the yard and up on the hillside just behind the house. At first, we tried not to scare them because we have always found them to be fascinating. Then it dawned on us: they weren’t just interesting critters—they were inadvertently tearing up the yard while scrounging for something to eat. Preferably something juicy because water has been scarce this year. We made some noise and off they went, at least 8 of them. But where?

There was no hole in the fence (that we knew of). Hmmmm. Oops, we discovered that the gate had been left open. That must be how they got in. But the curious thing was how they went out. We concluded it was NOT back through the open gate. So we bought some foul-smelling “liquid fence” to spray around the perimeter. Their snouts are really sensitive and also quite finicky about certain odors. If they’re offended in any way, they just turn around and go somewhere else to do their rummaging.

It seemed to work for a couple of weeks and then it rained. That nasty smell had been watered down, so they ventured back for a late night snack. Our place must be pretty yummy.

We really enjoy the animals around here, even the cinghiali. But those guys and their families were quickly becoming persistent pests. So we sprayed a wider swath of Boar-Be-Gone to further dissuade them, and what do you think happened? They went somewhere else. And where might that be? We didn’t know, but we were glad they were gone and it appeared that our boar challenge was over.

That next night, we enjoyed our dinner inside, since there was a crisp fall chill in the air. Afterward I ambled over to check email before doing the dishes. There was NO signal. What?! Our only connection to the outside world is through the internet. Oh well, we decided to check later, since those things are sometimes self-healing. But nothing.

The next morning, we still had no internet connection, so we had to make one of those dreaded calls to the service provider. He assured us that the problem was NOT with their equipment, but with ours. Of course! The next step was to check the antenna. Yes, I said the A word. In this high-tech world, we must still use an antenna to pick up the signal. If it rains, there’s an interruption. If there’s an especially gusty wind, there’s an interruption. So, we walked toward the antenna zone to check things out.

Imagine our surprise, when we found our “Bullet 5” on the ground. That little electronic device is the brain of our system. And our brain was lying there in pieces in the dirt. But why? How? It didn’t take long to figure out. Since the boar couldn’t scrounge in our yard anymore, they’d gone nosing around in the electronics zone. Their rooting had pulled up the antenna cable. And then, with one swift turn of a massive, tusked head, our communication lifeline was jerked from its receptacle. Our precious Bullet 5 was broken.

So we reported the sad findings to our service provider. To make sure that he really understood, we called our neighbor and asked her to give him a quick call to make certain we were on the road to connectivity. She was most helpful and called right away. But between the two of them, they concluded that her husband already had a spare Bullet 5 somewhere in the house. Woo-hoo! But, he was out-of-town for 2 days. Uh-oh.

Well, never mind. We’d just go buy a replacement part—timing was important. When we asked for their business hours, there was hesitation. The decision was already made. There was nothing more to do. There was no way that we were going to buy the replacement. They didn’t understand our willingness to take matters into our own hands. That’s not how things are done around here. So now, it’s the end of the second day and we’re standing at the window, like children  waiting for their father to come home.

Why? Well, it all comes back to our spraying of Boar-Be-Gone around the fence line. Not exactly the end result we had in mind. We went from being BOAR-ED, to being BORED! Maybe the company that makes the horrible smelling spray needs to list on the label a “side effect:” May cause the undesired migration from one area to another one close by. Just one more life lesson in the law of unintended consequences.

Posted on October 8, 2011

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Dusky Adventure: Dusk crept across the valley as I sat on the stone bench overlooking the old meandering farm road below. Suddenly, I heard a snort somewhere to my left and immediately became motionless, listening intently.

you might also enjoy our hunting stories called “Hunters Still” and “Cheering Nature On.”

Music – Hunters Still