Misdirection

Do you love magic? I certainly do! I've never taken the time for a serious study of it or tried to learn a trick well enough to perform before an audience, but I love to watch it. And I think I understand the basic principles involved fairly well. What does this have to do with gardening? One word, misdirection; you see the lemon cucumbers in the photo aren't produce I forgot to harvest, they're decoys. We have a couple of squirrels in the neighborhood and this is the time of year they start eating anything and everything they can get their hands on in order to put on weight for the winter. Now I don't want them munching on my tomatoes, which are still coming into their own. So I'm hoping the cucumbers will be enough of a distraction to keep the little critters busy and well fed and my tomatoes off their menu. So far it seems to be working.