I’ve been waking up every morning at about 5:30am to the sounds of birds in the garden. They sound so beautiful, but I don’t want to wake up that early! I have an alarm clock that makes the sounds of birds chirping, so I’m conditioned to wake up to them. The birds have made themselves at home in the trees by the garden, and I don’t want that to become an issue as my veggies grow.

Then there’s the rabbits. They didn’t show up until late last summer, but when they did, my peas started disappearing and my tomatoes were being eaten. This spring I planted my peas, and the next day I noticed divots where I had deposited several of my precious pea seeds. So I replanted and covered my peas with garden fleece. And they grew. But they don’t want to be tucked under the fleece anymore, so what do I do? Easy! I do this:

Since I have a couple extra flower hangers, I simply place one in the ground and tie an old aluminum pie tin to it. It waves in the wind, and sometimes bangs on the metal post. The sight and sound keeps the birds and rabbits away. Easy peasy. Once my petunias are transplanted in to their hanging baskets, I think I’ll hang one opposite of the pie tin, making it a really pretty solution to my rabbit and bird problem!