Boko Leporidae, Leader of the ICWIS
Boko Leporidae hopped into the assembly of terror cells in Grumpa Joe’s garden. Boko did not look like any of the Wabbits living in the garden, he was fluffier and more like the Easter Bunny. His shorter ears stood erect on his head, and his fur was white with splotches of black. “We have to unite, or die, said Boko.”
Hunched down low in the first row in front of Boko were Aga Bam-bi, and Ali Bug-Bunee. Aga munched on a clover flower while Ali nervously scanned the garden for signs of Grumpa Joe. Ali twisted and twitched his ears in all directions. His eyes open wide scanning the garden for movement while his nose was a constant twitch. Both Aga, and Ali suffered a devastating winter living in dire conditions of deep snow and brutal cold. As leaders of terror cells their focus shifted to survival, and not in terrorizing the garden. Little did they know that in their quest for food that had stripped the young bark off the Viburnum and the Willow shrubs causing them great stress. Missing from the meeting were the squirrels. “They took a terrible beating from the hawks,” said Aga.
Behind Aga and Ali sat Slimy the Slug, a new member of the organization. Slimy sat nervously hoping the meeting would end quickly. He needed darkness to carry out his work, and this meeting cut into his feeding time. Unlike the Wabbits, Slugs can not work in sunshine. The sun quickly dehydrates their vital fluids and kills them.
Aga Bam-bi and Ali Bug-Bunee at the union meeting
“Without a united front, we will all perish and Grumpa Joe will win. He will succeed in driving us out of his garden.”
“He hasn’t planted any Petunias yet this year,” said Ali.
“The tulips are all bloomed out so there is little left for us to raid,” spoke Aga.
“Fear not,” said Boko. “With a united effort, no matter what he plants we will take him down. Are we going to stand together, or will we go down?”
“We will stand together,” they answered in unison.
“Good. As soon as we know what his Monet Vision looks like we will strike terror into the old man’s life.
Grumpa Joe and Peggy spent the winter in the Valley of the Sun enjoying the warmth away from the deep snow that blanketed the garden. All winter Grumpa Joe envisioned the 2014 Monet Vision. “I’m going to call it Golden Glow,” he told Peggy. This year I will outsmart the Wabbits by planting flowers they can’t stand.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Peggy.
“There is only one problem?”
“What is that,” she asked?
“The flowers they hate are not available in the colors you like, you won’t have any pinks, or blues, or reds to enjoy. I can see it in my mind and it will be the most beautiful garden we have ever had.”
“What ever you say Dear.”
Grumpa Joe got a very late start on planting because of all the travel he and Peggy did. First, they had to return from the Valley and then they had to go half way back across the country to attend the graduation ceremony of Grumpa Joe’s grand-daughter. Before they left, he spent most of his time pulling weeds and preparing the flower beds.
When GJ returned home and walked around his garden he spotted Aga Bug-Bunee chewing peacefully on clover flowers. Eat all of that you want he said to himself, but stay away from my annuals.
After the graduation, Grumpa went on a flower buying spree. He bought a variety of Marigolds in yellow, orange, and mixed. This will fix them he thought. Those fuzzy Wabbits will stay away. I think it is the smell that does it.
In his day dreaming he envisioned a garden of yellows and golds of many sizes shapes and textures. Right after he planted his first batch of marigolds, he went on a second flower safari and bought more marigolds but also daisies, zinnias, some low growing Lysimachia, a full flat of tall skinny Celosia, and a spicy orange Asiatic Lily. He plunked a few pots of yellow Lantana into the mix and hoped he wasn’t buying very expensive Wabbit food.
A week after he planted the marigolds he noticed a few plants doing poorly. He got on his knees to get close to the ground. The foliage on the plant was gone. All that remained were the stems. Hmmnn! Where have I seen that before? Oh Yes, in my very first garden on Keeler Avenue I planted a line of Marigolds and they looked the same as this one. It took me a lot of research to find the culprit of that mystery, and when I did, I didn’t want to believe it. The garden has many critters, he thought. For every plant I buy a specific bug or predator exists to take it out. Now a new battle begins, and I’m afraid it involves chemical warfare for this terrorist. I can have no mercy on this tribe. I must annihilate them in order for the garden to live on. The formula for this new weapon resides in my study, I must find it quickly.
Slimy the Slug
The Union of Wabbits and Slugs met in the garden late at night after all the house-lights were out. Boko Leporidae, asked for reports on activity in the yard. Aga spoke first. “The Old Man planted Marigolds, I hate them and won’t go near them.”
“Anyone else?”
Slimy spoke up, “I ate a very delicious Marigold this week, and I can’t wait to get back for some more.”
Boko asked,” What are we going to do? There are many rabbits who will not eat Marigolds, but only one slug that will.”
Slimy answered, “I’ll begin recruiting as many of my friends as possible. Once they know there are Marigolds, they will drop the Hostas and come slithering over.”
“Do you think you can get enough help to do the job?”
“Oh yes, but it will take a few weeks to get their attention.” We have so much to eat in this yard it doesn’t pay to move around too much. We’ll just have to multiply in droves to make it happen.”
“Keep up the good work,” said Boko. “Stay observant and explore the yard for species you love and take them down as soon as you can. This guy is an infidel and needs to be taught a lesson. The early chapters of our holy book demands that Infidels be terrorized. While you are doing that I will contact the NSA (Nature Spy Alliance) for more intelligence and search for new members.”
“Hey Chief, what will we call our new union,” asked Ali Bug-Bunee?
How about the Illinois Coalition of Wabbits, Insects, and Slugs, or “ICWIS” pronounced Icy-Whiz?
“Yeah that sounds catchy.”
. . . .to be continued
Filed under: children's writers, family, Garden, Gardening, Humor, Wabbit Wars | Tagged: 2014 Monet Vision, Asiatic Lily, Boko Leporidae, Celosia, Daisy, Hosta, Lantana, Lysimachia, Marigolds, Rabbits, Slugs, Wabbits | Leave a comment »
