The Great Tomato Plant Mystery

A couple weeks ago, my daughter-in-law sent over six young tomato plants for my birthday.

I placed them into some loose, moist soil in a gardening box in the backyard, patted the soil down firmly, watered them and ever since have been tending to them on a daily basis.

They seemed to be adapting to the relocation pretty well, responding to the sunshine and the water I give them from a watering can every day around noon.

Until yesterday.

When I went out back to look in on them, only five remained. One of the smaller tomato plants had simply disappeared, roots and all.

Gone without a trace.

I have to say that in my many years of gardening, this has never before happened. Who stole my tomato plant?

It wasn’t a mole burrowing from below, because the plants are in a box.

I’m thinking the thief had to be a bird, although I’ve never seen that happen before. There was no hole and no tracks around where the plant had been.

So if anyone sees a bird’s nest with a small tomato plant wrapped into it, please let me know.

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