Quick Reads: The Gardener

A new and unusual gardener brings more than a summer's cornucopia to the Richter estate.Scarecrows have a creepy mystique about them. They’re lifeless, yet resemble us. Despite their positive utility (I assume they do keep birds from eating crops though I haven’t observed a scarecrow long enough to really know firsthand), a person will usually stumble upon one that appears neglected, tattered and worn. They’re often spotted from afar in lonely, desolate, out-of-the-way places and their eyes seem to follow passersby. Did its head turn, too, or was it just that its head and neck have loosened from its stranglehold upon the post it was hung from? Their bodies are often discovered unnaturally twisted -- victimized by the elements, birds or other hungry, curious animals. Doesn’t it sometimes look that like they tried to wriggle free?Coming across a scarecrow can really help bring out the imagination! Imagine being lost or stranded with no sign of civilization around and coming across a scarecrow whose better days are far behind him. It almost looks desperate, hanging up there, angry, with nothing to lose. Patiently waiting to escape, life can’t get much worse than a scarecrow’s version of being nailed to a post eerily resembling a crucifix. The buzzing of insects and the brushing together of the wheat and corn in the swaying wind are the only sounds you hear for miles. You are more than aware that you are alone and as vulnerable as that poor bag of twisted, tormented, human straw staring down at you.You approach cautiously, then its sunken eyes suddenly open, and it comes alive. Anger lights up his suddenly human eyes. The expression on its face turns into a twisted smile. You step back, dumbfounded, as the scarecrow tears itself from its cross with one thing on its mind -- revenge. Halloween and Indian folklore can definitely make for an interesting combination!