Once upon a time there was a kumquat tree that produced several crops of kumquats each year. The problem was in the harvesting. The tree was so tall no-one could pluck the fruit from its most prolific branches. It was beyond the enterprise and reach of everyone trying on conventional plucking methods. Occasionally Hosea would make with the ladder, and more infrequently he would clamber into the branches like a monkey. Otherwise the tree and its fruits were left to the mercy of birds, especially cockatoos. These intelligent birds made for the tree like homing pigeons, beak-handling and clawing the fruit. At the same time they stripped a good deal of foliage and fruits from the tree scattering the debris onto the ground. The concrete floor of the outdoor kitchen copped its fair share of mess.

It was true to say that the tree was a paradise for these birds.

Cleaning the kitchen and tidying the grounds and surrounds was a daily task for Jeleta. She devoted loads of time each day to restoring order.

No sooner was the place cleaned than the messing up started all over. The cockatoos seemed to be king pins.

Occasionally Jeleta looked up. She could see the cockatoos. They reacted toward her with mocking indifference.

The household decided that Keet the dog might, if tied up in the new outdoor kitchen, bark and frighten the cockatoos away. Keet was not at all keen on that idea and strained at his leash, trying to get away. Maybe he thought the cockatoos would bombard him with kumquats, bird droppings or that being tied up to bark was undignified for a senior canine.

Fortunately Skeet and Geet had come up for Christmas. Having heard of the cockatoo challenge, they brought with them what they thought would be the ultimate deterrent. It first required the hammering of three stakes into the ground adjacent to the kumquat tree

Geet and Skeet made sure the stakes were tied together and securely positioned. Geet then went to get what she hoped would be the ultimate cockatoo kumquat tree invasion deterrent.

The new and untried artefact was duly brought back and mounted on the stake. This introduced, fierce looking but inanimate bird cut a fearsome disposition.

OWL a prototype lookalike and fearsome nocturnal bird was installed. Owl’s job was to protect the kumquat tree, its foliage and its fruits.

Owl’s eyes were fearsome, his beak sharp and his very essence one of alertness. Surely this realistic looking scarecrow would be more than a match for those pestilential, fruit destroying, foliage stripping cockatoos.

Owl surveyed the scene unblinkingly. Geet, Skeet and Jelete hoped he would be more than a match for the cockatoos. He sat and surveyed all that was before him.

But ……

Owl was looking in the wrong direction. He had his back to the tree! So the cockatoos were able to make whoopee of the situation, carrying on as if Owl wasn’t there.

After some days, the penny dropped on the collective perplexity at 188 as to why Owl was such an ineffective decoy. It was not possible to reposition Owl’s torso in its completeness because he had been firmly set on an immovable platform. So the next best option was employed.

Owl’s head was twisted in such a way that, although facing forward, he was in fact looking back at the tree. Had he the capacity to think historically, Owl may have well felt like Lot’s wife in ancient times.

Notwithstanding this unusual postural pursuit, Owl looked back as vengefully as he had when looking forward.

There was one significant anatomical difficulty posed by Owl’s cranial re-positioning. The degree of difficulty those at 188 had with turning his head, meant that only one eye could actually focus on the kumquat tree. The other roamed the backyards of nearby neighbours.

A further impediment compounded the situation. Owl had a very stiff neck, so stiff it could not be vertically inclined. Unable to look up, Owl could only look straight ahead. This horizontal perspective gave him a clear if one-eyed view of the kumquat tree trunk. However he could not see what was happening in the tree’s upper branches foliage and fruit levels.

Safe from Owl’s line of sight, the cockatoos continued to frolic, feast and throw residue down onto the ground and into the kitchen. Could he look down, Owl would have be appalled at the ground level mess created by these birds.

It seemed that all Jelete could do was to carry on cleaning. Was this to be her never ending story?