Belated Birthday Addition to the Garden

Even though I have tons of plant/bug stuff to post from this summer's backyard experiments, I'm pre-empting them all to introduce to you our newest member of the garden, Fred.

Fred

Fred is mini-moai.  About 3 feet tall (4 feet including hair).  We set him up in the back right corner of the backyard in the most shade.  He looks a little lonely there now, but eventually we'll find the right combination of plants and rocks to give him company.  Meanwhile, he helps balance the interest in the yard.

I don't know if I can describe how satisfied I am to have him watching over the estate. I've always been a little fascinated by the story of Easter Island. Years ago, when Mom came to visit, I dragged her to the heart of the Texas Hill Country  to visit our version of Easter Island heads.

This Hill Country moai could be Fred's big brother!

Johanna & Mom near Hunt, Texas

Which, for no apparent reason, is also the home of Stonehenge II.

But back to Fred.

So I'd seen him and his compatriots at the Natural Gardener last spring, thought he was cute and told Dan about him in passing.  Unbeknownst to me, while I was at Mom's in Florida, Dan drove down to the nursery to pick him up, but he was gone! Well, when I got home Dan presented me with a beautiful bird bath and told me the sad story.

Unwilling to give up without a good moai because of a missed clearance sale, I drove the 23 miles to the Natural Gardener to see what I could excavate. Despite the fact that these moai pottery did not create the same enthusiasm in the employees as the pottery did in me, I was able to find the stash of leftover moai hidden among the other pots. Huzzah! I got back home to Dan as soon as I could to tell him the news. We packed up the bird bath and traded it in for Fred.

Feel free to stop by and have your picture taken with him.