carnage in the corn belt

our luck ran out...finally...there have been critters in the maize beds...both of them...the sweet corn is pretty much toast ( although to be honest it was well past its prime anyway ) and there have been predators in the hopi blue as well...this is what i expected when we planted and i am a bit surprised it took this long...the maize in my back yard went down to squirrels a month ago or so and it was a matter of time until they got to the community garden...the season is beginning to change ( even though daytime temperatures recently would seem to belie this ) and everything is preparing for autumn and winter...including critters stoking up on calories for the cold to come..it's okay..the price gardeners pay..subverting the natural carrying capacity of the neighborhood for our benefit in food crops ( not to mention zoyza grass and landscaping ) displaces some critters...but others stubbornly carve out a niche...in my back yard...or yours...or the community garden...more as it comes up....forgot to mention that i brought in what i could salvage as far as finished maize goes...i can share hopi blue seed after it dries if anyone is interested in arguing with squirrels next year.