It was really really hard to stay inside reading and writing for my thesis when 1) it was beautiful outside 2) the turkeys keep getting into my pumpkin patch and 3) I had a helper to assist me to stop the turkeys (thanks Dezirae!). So, weak as I am, I found myself outside building a scarecrow or “scare turkey” to be exact. I wanted to know if they actually work. Well…plus it was really fun. So Ms. Dezirae helped me figure out how to fashion a lovely scarecrow using an old peasant dress I found (in my basement oddly). One of the best parts are the steel washers we sewed to the bottom of the dress. They chime prettily in the wind.
 

 
It was fun. It came out quite nice. But alas, I do not think it will scare the turkeys away from that patch for long. Though there were initial and hopeful odd sounds followed by backing away. For those of us out there that have planted a seed and nurtured the delicate seedlings to maturity, each day tending, watching, no, adoring their growth, we know that when an animal shatters our dream of harvest, a war has been waged. I know this personally to be true. It was also apparent when I went looking for online discussions on scarecrows and their effectiveness. Someone asked, “has anyone here tried a random sequence of different scarecrow types, set up at randomized intervals of, say, 5 to 15 days? Or know of such an experiment?” Sigh, isn’t there any easier way than keeping a stack of scarecrows on hand and rotating them every few days? At that rate, you may as well stand out there with a broom and shoosh the birds away.
 
Another person found that placing old garden hose cut to about 2 to 3 feet in a snaky position each day, kept crows permanently out of the young corn. Impressive. I have no idea if my turkeys have a snake fearing instinct. Maybe if I used 12″diameter sump pump hose it’d be more believable. I am happy to try the garden hose out though. At the very least, I can place some on my seed table to keep little bandit brown birds from continuously trashing my seed boxes. It was important with the hose approach to move the hose position each day. Apparently, birds know a decoy when they see one…