My Dead Shrub Alibi

Dear Downtown neighbors,

I can explain this dead shrub . . .

. . . or, more to the point, why it is still in front of my shop.

You see, about two weeks ago, someone helped themselves to this one . . .

. . . pot and all!  (Usually they just yank them out and toss them down the sidewalk.)

So, I decided to just let its sister shrub go—yes, I withheld water.  Cruel, I know, but  it really wouldn’t fit into my garden at home.

On the day that we (my fellow downtown merchants and I) were filling the planters along the street with beautiful spring flowers, I decided I would pull-out the dead shrub and plant some new tropical plants I’ve purchased for the summer months.

(This is Ryan Bowie—he is an actor and the Director of Fund Raising and Development at The Roxy Regional Theatre, but he also helps at Hodgepodge on Sundays AND has an amazingly green thumb!)

When I headed for the shrub—ready to yank it out—a sparrow took flight from inside the crispy, dried not-so-evergreen.  I decided I’d better take a look and sure enough, there was a nest with several little eggs.  Mama immediately started yelling at me to get away, so I did.

My camera batteries had died, otherwise I’d have pictures of those beautiful eggs to show, but when I returned on Monday,with fully charged batteries, this is what I saw . . .

I have been watching closely, but not too closely.  They are getting bigger and, while I’m ready to put my new plants in place, I think I’ll miss checking on these little guys.

So that’s the story of the delayed spring beautification in front of Hodgepodge.  I hope my neighbors understand.

Thanks for your indulgence!