So here’s part 2 in The Rabbit Wars:
I made it out to Lee Valley to buy the motion-activated sprinkler as planned — and got as far as their garden equipment displays (just inside the door) before the plan fell apart. 😛
What caused such disintegration, you ask? Only the fact that they have SO. MUCH. COOL. STUFF. Seriously. It’s a gardener’s paradise, filled with things you’ve always wanted and other things you didn’t know you needed until you saw them. I was in heaven.
My budget, sadly, was not.
I had a gift card from my husband that I’d been carrying around in my wallet for more than two years because I couldn’t decide what I most wanted to spend it on. And now I was going to have to spend most of it on fighting off a fuzzy little monster terrorizing my garden? Instead of on the multitude of other things I wanted needed? (The sprinkler was going to cost me a whopping $75.00.)
I looked around me. I considered my options. I oohed and aahed over all the pretty, shiny, and yes, practical things that I could have if I weren’t waging war on a rabbit. And then…then I spotted my compromise.
He was big. He was impressive. He was scary (well, at least from a rabbit’s perspective…I hoped). And he was half the cost of the sprinkler. My friends, meet Fergus, my new prowler owl:
Isn’t he a handsome boy? His description on the website is this: “a dynamic realism that makes it particularly effective for large gardens. Designed to look like a hunting owl, it has large wings that move to attract the attention of birds and other small pests and scare them away.” See? Impressive. (And did I mention half the cost of the sprinkler? 🙂 )
I’ll admit he’s a little more trouble than a set-it-up-and-leave-it sprinkler. Because I rely on birds for garden bug patrol, I put him away in the shed for the day and have to remember to put him back up before bed, and I also have to move his pole every couple of days so the wascally wabbit doesn’t catch on. But he does seem to be doing the job. For seven nights running, the garden has remained untouched. My peas have even recovered and sent out side shoots. 🙂
And, of course, there’s the bonus of having other new garden toys to play with, which also makes me very happy. 😉
I suppose only time will tell whether Fergus is a true solution or an easily distracted gardener’s folly…I’ll keep you posted, shall I?
P.S. My newsletter is now up and running, so remember to subscribe (link is on the right) so you don’t miss any of the fun! And if you’d like a copy of the first issue, just shoot me an email. 🙂
Leave a Reply