It is one of my very favorite things in the garden ... a little unexpected bit of perverse whimsy.
It belonged to the prior owners of our house, and it may have even belonged to the owners before them, too. They told me that they would get rid of it before they moved out, because it was broken. (St. Francis's head was laying on the ground beside him at the time.) I scooped it up right then and there, and I told them that I loved it exactly the way it was ... broken head, chippy paint, and all.
At first, I put the head onto his little bird-feeder dish so it wouldn't get lost before I could repair it. It kinda grew on me like this, though, and I decided to leave it. Now, I can't imagine him any other way.
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edited on 4/17/15 to add: A kind reader left the following message on the Hartwood Roses Facebook page a little while ago. "Your headless statue - what a hoot. I think he's St. Fiacre, patron saint of the garden. He's carrying a basket. No animals are on him, as would be for St. Francis Gail."
He's right ... carrying a basket ... no animals ... Saint Fiacre it is! I'm really glad to know this, because I have been keeping an eye out for a St. Fiacre statue for a while now ... haven't seen one that I like yet. Who would have thought that I already had one that I love so much.
