Dear Heloise: So happy to read your column in the Press of Atlantic City again. We have a huge 150-gallon composter in our backyard, where I deposit lots of vegetable and fruit peelings, eggshells, coffee grinds, tea bags, shredded paper, chopped  dry leaves, and grass clippings. I mix it up periodically with a couple gallons of water added. The composter is covered with a snug lid.

However, it stays the same size; it never gets bigger, with only the grass clippings remaining. So, our neighbor thinks we have a groundhog living inside and eating our weekly deposits. To test it, we didn’t mix it all up, and sure enough, the stuff from the gallon-size bucket was all gone two days later, including two bananas.

How do we find the groundhog, and how do we get rid of it? We don’t want to stop composting. I hope you have a solution. — Valerie C., Millville, New Jersey

Valerie, you might want to hold off on depositing food in your compost pile and see if the groundhog leaves in search of other places to find food. Using a strong-smelling liquid such as bleach in a compost pile is not really the best idea, but it might drive the groundhog away.

You might try calling in someone who’s experienced in capturing small animals, such as an exterminator. I don’t recommend trying this yourself because of the risk of being bitten by a wild animal. — Heloise

POSTCARD MEMORIES

Dear Heloise: I saw a recent hint about sending postcards to one’s grandchildren, and it prompted me to share my postcard hint:

Every time I go on vacation, I send a postcard to myself! Near the end of my journey, I choose an image that resonates with my trip. I write all of the highlights and lowlights of my adventure, especially small details that I’m likely to forget once the trip is no longer fresh.

Most of these postcards wind up on my fridge, so I have frequent reminders of my treasured holidays. I now have 20 years of an illustrated travel journal from this practice and a nice international stamp collection, too! — Sarah K., Sweet Home, Oregon

Sarah, not only are those great memories of your travels, they may be treasured memories for your grandchildren or great-grandchildren one day. — Heloise

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Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.