Those of you who read this column on a regular basis likely have noticed that tales of my garden have been conspicuously absent from this space this spring and summer.

There’s a good reason for that — actually, it’s more like eight or 10 reasons.

Everything got off to a great start this year. My husband, Mike, and I with some help from my brother, Larry, got things ready to go early in the season. And I wrote about it when my eye doctor, Doug Huff of Barnesville, presented me with a gift of dozens of tiny lettuce plants to get us started. As he urged, I planted them in April and they took right off.

For several days, maybe a week or two, I watched as they took hold of the soil and began to grow. I was really looking forward to having fresh salads all summer long.

Then one day I looked out to see how my little crop was doing and got quite a shock. Every one of those little plants had vanished!

A day or so later, looking out another window, I got a surprise of a different kind. A groundhog that I’m pretty sure had been roaming the neighborhood for a few years was sunning herself in our yard — along with her numerous babies. It was suddenly quite clear what had happened to my lettuce. And that’s when the battle began.

Living in the middle of town, I decided my best option was to trap and relocate these critters.

I had checked with law enforcement and learned that groundhogs can be hunted in Ohio at any time of year, but that just didn’t seem like the way to handle this situation.

So, I bought a couple of traps and some tantalizing fruits, such as cantaloupes and apples, and set out on my mission to remove them.

I have had some success. There are fewer groundhogs living in the middle of Belmont than there were earlier this year. But, there are still some here, and I’m pretty sure they are onto me.

My efforts continue, but my success rate has declined in the past couple of weeks. I fear that I may not be able to conquer this particular family of rodents. I will, however, keep trying.

I have given up completely on having a garden this year, though. There is simply no point in raising greens, squash, cucumbers, beans and other goodies just to have my plot raided by hungry little beasts.

I have faced off with local wildlife before. From slugs to deer and the “bean-eating bunnies of Belmont” I have found ways to discourage several different creatures from eating my harvest.

But these groundhogs have bested me for now.

Many readers have reached out in the past with tips and advice on how to grow healthier crops or discourage garden invaders. If any of you knows how to convince groundhogs to just go away, please feel free to let me know!