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