Gus: 1; Wily Jeneric: 0

Wily Jeneric prides themselves on being mediocre gardeners. Every year, we plant a variety of crops, from peas in March to garlic in the fall. And every year, we haul out bushels of tomatoes, buckets of peas, a few bowls of lettuce, and bits and pieces of other crops. This year, we were so bold as to plant leeks (for leek soup, of course) and broccoli. Despite our worst efforts, these two crops survived to be planted outside and carefully tended (we hand picked the caterpillars off the broccoli every day!).

Enter Gus.

Gus is rather large, with a voracious yet oddly single-tracked appetite. He prefers to eat one crop at a time, starting with the cucumbers. At first, he nibbled. Then, he lost all control and like a junkie looking for a fix, he grazed through our garden in less than a day.

Then he was gone for a few days.

On the fourth day of the siege, Eric noticed some nibbles on the broccoli – the precious broccoli. Bunnies, perhaps? Nothing to worry about – the rabbits never do more than test the produce before moving on.

Day five. Jenni returns home from school to this alarming site:

The glove has been thrown and we of Wily Jeneric have taken up the challenge. Gus the groundhog will be defeated.

Bonus points to whoever can figure out the link between Operation Gus and Baby Jeneric.