if it were eaten i'd call it predation...

instead i may just call it vandalism...

something was rooting around in my maize and teosinte beds so i put deer fence up around the bulk of it...however i did not cover all of it since there are a few places out there with only a small number of plants...

the digging had abated for a time...it has begun again and i found a broken maize plant and an uprooteed on in one bed that was prone to attack...

the uprooted plant was around eleven inches tall and as i dug around it to get it out to transplant to a safer spot...

i found one long root longer than the plant was tall ( and i am not cetain i dug it all up ) which struck me as odd for such a small plant..but then what do i know?

i dug the plant a new home close to some kin...

and planted him...

with a little extra company i ran across...

this plant was perilously close to the digging so i went back...

popped him up...

and put him in with his kinfolk...it may be a bit more crowded there, however, it is better lit at night and may keep whatever is digging out there a bit further away...one hopes...one hopes a lot in a garden...or a yard...or whatever you care to call this