Gnomelog

When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover the secret system. This is called "divine manipulation of the threads." It is the commander's most precious faculty. Maintain your intimate relations with spies. None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other fields should greater secrecy be preserved.

(1) Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity;
(2) They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straight forwardness;
(3) Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports;
(4) Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of warfare;
(5) If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the secret was told.

The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the double agent . Hence it is essential that the double agent be treated with the utmost liberality.

It is only the enlightened and wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results.

FreeTheGnomes.com provides Garden Gnome Liberation information and calls to action. We advocate an end to oppressive gardening and freedom for garden gnomes everywhere.

Have you seen a Gnome in captivity? Report it at this site. This information will be made available to the Garden Gnome Liberation Front, the Local, Federal, and International authorities, the appropriate amnesty organizations and will be transmitted into space via a powerful, world-class radio astronomy dish.

Our group, which advocates "freeing" gnomes and "returning them to the wild," gained public attention in the 1990s.

In 1998, a tragic mass "suicide" occurred with 11 gnomes dangling by their necks under a bridge at Briey in eastern France.

A letter found nearby said: "When you read these few words we will no longer be part of your selfish world, where we serve merely as pretty decoration."

For your liberation party, don't forget the candy! I find crunchy items work best for parties, like M&Ms. Don't ever put out caramel, it makes it too hard to talk. And don't forget the zuzu! No party is complete without it.

Nightfall
Around the dock I whisper
The sun is lost.

By the inlet
Searching around
Summer blossom.

By the perth
Along the pavement
I reflect.

2 medium chopped onion
1 chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cubed eggplant
3 medium zucchini cut in 1/2 inch slices and halved
2 cups crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 large peeled and chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash fresh black pepper to taste

Salt cubed eggplant. Let it set for 20 minutes. Blot dry.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Saute for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the eggplant, zucchini, crushed tomatoes, parsley, basil and oregano.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer another 15 minutes over low heat.

Serves 6.

I have heard urine will scare rabbits away from the garden. Is this true? If not, what will work to keep rabbits away?

Now just think this through.  

You're a hungry rabbit and you see a tasty plant to eat.  As you approach it, you smell a predator mark, let's say a fox.  Are you surprised to smell a fox?  Not at all - you expect that foxes will be marking their range. Are you deterred?  Maybe a little, but you'll eat nonetheless.
You are going to be very wary of actual foxes that may be about.  If none show up, you're fine.

I know from Roddy that he always expects to be eaten on every day, but it has NEVER slowed down his eating.

Actually, rabbits use their hearing sense to detect real predators more than they use any smells that may or may not mean a predator is actually in the area.  They have excellent hearing.

Urine is used by species as territorial boundries within their species. If predator

urine actually chased away prey, all the prey within the
predators territory would leave, and the predator would starve.

Given all this, are you surprised this doesn't work very well?

Rabbits do have a sense of taste, BTW, so spraying plants with distasteful materials will deter them IF they are not too hungry and IF there are other (more pleasant) food sources nearby.  Smells which really do repel rabbits are blood and mothballs,  but mothballs can be toxic to other animals, so don't use them. But urine simply does not trigger the alarm response in prey. 

Now, how do you fix the problem?

A major deterrent to the rabbit population is to get rid of their natural cover. Keep grass mown, clear away any brush and cut any unwanted shrubbery. With no where to hide, these creatures will usually find a safer place to inhabit.

Some avid gardeners swear by these methods, others scoff, but as most are free they are worth a try.- A piece of plastic hose laid on the ground to mimic a snake, a bowl of water because it is believed that rabbits are afraid of their own reflection, noise makers like chimes, tin foil or tin cans tied together. Last year we tried cayenne pepper. Although this method was initially successful, the need to reapply due to the new growth and moisture caused it to be more trouble and expense than it was worth.

Good luck to you with your rabbits. Keep in mind, in some cases it is better to make your peace with the creatures and co-exist. They can be wise in their own way, and make great friends if you can get past the initial irritation. At least that is the way it worked with my old pal Roddy.