For the last few days, swarms of birds have covered our lawn and driveway gorging themselves on grubs and seeds. They know my gardens are safe–chemical and pesticide free. I don’t even use chemical fertilizers, only compost. I think this is why I rarely find a Japanese beetle among my summer flowers. the birds have gobbled the grubs before they hatch.

The birds only have a few seconds before the dog notices.

The dog chased the birds into the trees.

The dog laid down and the birds decended again.

The dog continued to chase the birds until I dragged him in. Then the birds dined.

Last summer, the summer of 2009, was not a good year for tomatoes. Besides being too rainy and too cool, critters attacked. I found bites in all the nearly-ripe large tomatoes. The thief left the cherry tomatoes alone. I would have swapped him all the cherries for one Brandywine.

I have lots of suspects-rabbits, birds, squirrels, raccoons and rats. I never was able to catch a glimpse of an animal attacking the fruit. I was at a loss as to how to fix the problem until a friend emailed me pictures of her solution, a raised bed that was completely screened. It is so clever and good looking to boot.