[Rose-list] thief prosecuted

**"* <j*@email.msn.com>**

Greetings all:

The reports on thefts of plants reminds me of a case I was involved in.

It involved a miserly woman in her 60s who was determined to take all of her
belongs to heaven, along with other people's. She was particularly
interested in plants.

I noticed that a few perennials were missing from my border. I knew I
couldn't blame deer, squirrels or rabbits, so assumed it was some kind of
human skunk. I kept watch. One evening, just after dark, this senior thief
stopped at my garden (it was along a sidewalk in front of the house), looked
all directions to see if anyone was looking and started to pull an
8-foot-tall banana tree out of the ground (the tree summered in our Iowa
garden). I ran out of the house just as she was pushing the tree into her
car. She got in a sped away. Well, I knew her, got the license number and
called the police.

The Great Banana Tree Caper was solved in short order. I filed theft and
property damage charges against her. She pleaded guilty and was fined. After
the story broke, other people who were victims of plant thefts came forward
and put the blame on her. They couldn't say for sure, so she wasn't charged
with any other plant thefts.

I'm a railroad fan, and early this spring purchased a weathervane with an
old steam locomotive on top (instead of the rooster or whatever). I placed
it on a pole in our front yard. It was gone the next morning, as was the
pole. I liked that ornament. If I ever find another, it won't go in the
front yard.

I keep most of my plants in the back yard where it's harder for thieves to
enter. Perhaps I could train some of the rabbits to be Attack Bunnies.

John G. Adney
Marion, Iowa (zones 4-5)

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