Scarecrows dressed in the latest style

You don't bother me at all.

Stylish or not, I don't think this fake owl is nearly as frightening as it is supposed to be. It certainly didn't deter that female Pine grosbeak when she paused for a breather.

Actually she and her mate who have been hanging around all summer seem pretty fearless, owl or not. I think they are nesting in the big spruce at the back of the house. One or both stop by just about every day and poke about in the yard, still finding spilled sunflower seeds left over from winter.

They are pretty cavalier even about me. I have walked to within a couple of feet of them and sometimes they will just stay put or at the most flutter off a few feet and go back about their business. I kind of like them hanging around giving me company while I work in the garden, my two friends. They don't demand much.

I do worry a little about the neighbor's cat that wanders into the yard fairly regularly though. I have seen the remains of a few birds over the years that I am pretty sure that cat killed. I chase him when I see him and following a suggestion from a woman gardener, after dark I play wolf and mark my territory around the garden which seems to keep him away. Maybe it will help protect the birds as well.

I'm expecting to see young ones any day now and if they get to the ground before they can fly well and before they gain some protective fear, they would make easy pickings for the cat. I look at the BB gun in the closet and wonder, but I am pretty sure if I shot it, there would be a row in the neighborhood.

Maybe I need to dress a scare-cat in the latest style.