The Angry Robin Cometh

We have an Angry Robin in our backyard.

I don't know why it is angry. But it expresses its anger by dive bombing those who go near the garden. Well, everybody except my 7-year-old son. When he goes out to the garden, the Angry Robin remains esconced in our unruly apple tree, spouting disgruntled chirps. My theory is that it's the two missing front teeth. Heck, I'm scared of that mouth these days...

The Angry Robin may be the female robin that has reared at least two batches of babies in a nest under our deck this summer. Perhaps she is exacting revenge for all of the times we made her evacuate the nest by daring to walk past the nest down to said garden.

Conversley, it could be her mate. Maybe it's a new beau who is trying to show up the other male robins in the vicinity. "This is how you treat humans, you losers. Grow a pair!"


Not sure why our garden is even very attractive to the Angry Robin. It has tanked big time. The zucchini plant is already tapped out. The few cucumbers we got were scrawny and curled. The lettuces did all right until the rains came. As did the tomato plants, which have also succumbed to the nibbling of bunnies -- amazingly, our first ever problems with animals. The jalapenos are doing well. And I'm hoping the poblanos and red chiles recover. And the Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes.

I think our garden problem is multi-fold. We planted too much in too little space. We failed to keep the tomato plants under control. And, of course, the copious amounts of rain.

In any case, if there is another run in with the Angry Robin, it will no longer be met with girly screams and scampers back up the deck stairs. From this point forward, it will be met with awe-inducing force. A suburbia WMD, if you will.

This secret weapon?

The garden hose. On the "shower" setting, of course. I promised my daughter I wouldn't really hurt it.