| I decided to get rid of my gnomes and trolls and | | | | it,and the happiness I experienced every morning |
| replace them with a garden Buddha. My gnomes | | | | when I looked out at my garden and saw a pale |
| are delightful and bring me great joy, but they are | | | | gray Buddha sitting in the middle with the sun |
| there to deter animals from snacking on my | | | | shining off his big round belly was reward enough |
| beautiful vegetables and plants. The animals seem | | | | for me. |
| to have missed the message I've been trying to | | | | After a couple of weeks I realized that my |
| send with my garden gnomes. | | | | garden Buddha was not only not doing his job, but |
| I went shopping online for my Buddha because | | | | he was actually attracting the animals to his belly. |
| Icouldn't think of a local retail store that would sell | | | | More than once I found a neighborhood cat curled |
| a garden Buddha. I spend a lot of time in nurseries | | | | up against his bulging abdomen, fast asleep in the |
| and in the gardening sections of big chain stores, | | | | sun. I never would've thought a cat would be |
| so I have some authority on this. | | | | drawn to a stone Buddha figure. Maybe cats are |
| I found exactly what I was looking for online, and | | | | more spiritual than I thought and maybe I |
| with speedy shipping I had my garden Buddha set | | | | underestimated their spirituality by assuming that |
| up in my garden four dayslater. While I initially | | | | the Buddha would have to be made out of pillows |
| bought him to scare away the squirrels and | | | | for them to be drawn to it. I guess the only |
| chipmunks and stray cats in the neighborhood | | | | logical thing to do is get my hands on some fox |
| who love to eat things like bulb flowers and herbs, | | | | urine and sprinkle it around the perimeter of my |
| I found that after a few days I really didn't care if | | | | garden to make it less attractive to the animals, |
| my garden Buddha did its job of protecting my | | | | because I've become so attached to the Buddha |
| garden. I didn't care because I was in love with | | | | that I've decided he is there to stay. |