The Garden Sentinel ...

Marlene Terry

There it stands, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings at a single bound.

What is it?

Of course you have to know it's the garden sentinel, SUPER OWL!

I can't believe I fell for it, the sales pitch given at a local nursery this year, that although it didn't promise super powers from the stock of rigid lookalikes, it did state that an owl in the garden, even a plastic one, would unequivocally "frighten away any common garden menaces, such as squirrels and/or birds."

Paid a good price for it too. And we mounted it atop a long stake that allowed the owl to rotate in the wind above the garden — a very formidable looking bird of prey if I do say so myself.

Young tender shoots just coming up in our garden were being ravaged by birds on watch in surrounding trees, and we grew tired in a hurry of the fight to keep them away.

"This will show them," I thought chuckling about how we, with our superior intelligence, had tricked the scavengers. And I hoped for great things.

Those hopes and dreams lasted about four days. That's when we began to notice the return of beak bites on some of the plants' leaves. ... Even staked the area out for an afternoon and were appalled at the sight of robins, finch, sparrows ... and what was that DUCK doing out there, frolicking through the peas, peppers, and beans while having their fill of really, anything they wanted!

... And the garden sentinel?

Still standing there ... formidable, blowing in the wind and keeping watch over our home-grown produce ... while being covered top to bottom in bird poop, that is!

Moral to the story: Birds get it, dummy! And so do salesmen.

♦Hope you'll let me share your stories and photos here at my new residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

 

P.S. To the sweet reader who gifted me with a "new pair" of purple socks. ... You've touched my heart ... AND feet! Thank you!