Kathleen wrote, "I also checked open garden beds for bulbs/corms, and as I had suspected, the squirrels and chipmunks have eaten all the fall crocus. I intend to replant, but in buried wire mesh boxes. . . building those boxes sounds like a good winter project." If the culprits are squirrels and chipmunks, you probably don't need whole boxes -- just a surface barrier of, say, aviary wire (like chicken wire but with smaller openings) or some kind of heavy plastic mesh such as is used for temporary fencing. However, if voles are to blame, you need underground barriers. I've had a lot of success with heavy plastic mesh pots used for aquatic plants (you need the ones with mesh on the bottom as well as the sides. (Kathleen, I have some extra ones if you would like to get them when you're in Portland.) I had trouble with chipmunks where I used to live, but there are none (and no voles or field mice) at my new home. So far the squirrels haven't dug up bulbs or tubers, even the cyclamen tubers that are near the surface; I think the many oak trees here keep them satisfied, along with all the neighborhood bird feeders. Today I saw one on my bulb lawn eating something, but it proved to be only a mushroom. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA