I Left Those Bark Chips Right Here!

thin bark chips.....

Does anyone know where bark chips go?  Each year I top up all my ornamental garden beds with fresh bark chip mulch, and every year they need it.  

I use landscape fabric under them, so the chips can’t be getting worked into the soil and gradually disappearing that way. The bark chips are the bright red kind and would be visible if they were somehow moving themselves into the lawn and out of their designated area.  They are bigger than most of the birds around here so it seems doubtful the birds are carrying them off and even if they could pick them up, what on earth would they need them for? When I do my spring cleanup I hand pick every bark chip back out of the debris and put them back into the ornamental garden, so accidental removal by the gardener doesn’t seem to provide the answer either.

Any thoughts on the disappearing bark chip mystery anyone?

The Plant Lady