Monday, May 21, 2012

I'm Taking No Prisoners

Each morning within a half hour of dawn, three or four crows fly into our yard and start hopping around in my garden.

They are eating their breakfast.

As of today, I have lost nearly all my Swiss chard and all my little lettuce plants. More than half of my spinach and some of my kohlrabi is gone.

Tomorrow morning about a half hour after dawn, I will be up.

I will be armed and dangerous.

I will be taking no prisoners.

19 comments:

Sparkless said...

May your aim be steady and the crows be unlucky.

You Can Call Me Jane said...

I have the utmost confidence in your weapon wielding skills. Godspeed, Mama Pea.

judy said...

can I watch? lmbo but your poor garden! what is wrong with these birds ,there is other food out there ,don't they know ,we had a black bird kill and eat a robin next door,grrrrr,get out your gun Annie

Lisa said...

Oh my gosh.... and I thought we had a terrible time with the squirrels eating our birdseed. Good luck.

Carolyn said...

Bazooka. Definitely a bazooka. And get Papa Pea to take some video.

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Why, thank ya, ma'am! Patoowie. (That was me spitting my tobbaccy juice.)

I'll Call You Jane - Please be near to steady my hand at 4:30 tomorrow morning, okay?

judy - Well, that's just it! They have acres of juicy, green succulents. Why do they have to eat OUR food?

Erin said...

I feel your pain on this one, only mine is a Mockingbird! Darn birds...

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - I can sympathize with you and your squirrels . . . I think ours eat more than the birds do. But that I can tolerate. These crows I can't!

CR - I don't think you can legally shoot crows. If there was a video for evidence, you'd have to contact me in the slammer.

Mama Pea said...

Erin - You're a much better person than I am. You seem to like your mockingbird and treat him/her nicely with a sense of humor. I'm a bad person. I don't like my crows and I'm not going to treat them nicely. ;o}

LindaCO said...

Ha! They did cross a line...

Judy T said...

Tennis anyone? I wonder if you could get close enough to pick them off with a racket... that would be satisfying. Or golf....
I feel your pain. I lost one of my little peppers today to a bird. And of course, it had to be a variety that only two seedlings even came up. Grr... At least I haven't had trouble with chipmunks yet. Don't even get me started on them!

Good luck tomorrow morning.

Judy

The Apple Pie Gal said...

I never said this, and it can't be proven: the 3 Sh's
Shoot, shovel and shut up!

Kidding! Besides you know darn well I can't hit the broad side of a barn!

Anonymous said...

4 and 20 blackbirds (err, um, crows) were baked into a pie...

Unknown said...

Oh no sorry to hear you lost some plants, it's so aggravating when that happens. I have been battling squirrels and gophers over hear and recently lost 11 heads of lettuce, lets just say it's ugly and my gun is handy as well. Good luck, may your aim be steady and this problem be no more.

Sue said...

Oh, I hope you "get" them. I have the dam (beaver) Blue Jays. They WATCHED me plant corn the other day. Watched and plotted. I heard them call their relatives. And the flock descended. I'm normally a mild mannered person, but the sight of all my work being undone sets the blood boiling.
Have Papa Pea get a photo of you on a mission--I'd love a "visual" on that-LOL!!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Why on earth would it be a problem to shoot crows? It's not as if they are endangered!

Mama Pea said...

LindaCO - They crossed several lines . . . of lettuce! Eating as they went.

Judy - Just the thought of whomping one with a tennis racket . . . super-satisfying!

APG - Love your three S-s! Maybe a sign with the same on it in the garden would be enough?

Ruth - Hmmm. Now there's another idea . . .

a view from a brown dog - Welcome and thanks for commenting. Losing 11 HEADS of lettuce would definitely put me over the edge!

Sue - A "visual" of me on my mission would be downright scary . . . bed head, ratty pjs and robe, bent over with feet braced wide apart leaning out the upper story window with a rifle . . . yup, a real pin-up.

Jen - Some "rules" are just dumb.

Anonymous said...

It seems that here, they are multiplying like rabbits, probably the same for you. Can you possibly create some cover for your beds with some mesh?

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - What I may have to do is put a cold frame on top of the bed and close it down at night so first thing in the morning they won't have access to the seedlings. (We're still cold enough at night that they wouldn't overheat.) Then even when I prop it open for the day, I don't *think* the crows will go in there.