If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them
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If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

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Day 3

The enmity between farmers and birds is nothing new. The nightmare of pests ruining crops and wild animals destroying entire harvests is as old as farming itself. The old proverb, "If you can't beat them, join them," has been spinning in my mind all day. The blackbird digs in my vegetable garden up to eight times every day, and there have been quite a few casualties among the lettuce. Whenever I watch one side of the garden, it moves to the opposite side.

I know nothing about the "art of war"; actually, I loathe fighting. Besides, I think the bird has chicks. There’s no way a bird that size needs to eat that much. So I’m in a moral dilemma here: what will happen to the little birds if I decide to pull out the big guns? I’ve proven to be a terrible farmer, so chances are I’d be an even worse blackbird mom. I'm definitely not cut out for this kind of battle.

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