March 11 Valley Life Column

March 11 Valley Life Column in AG Weekly

Lure leprechauns with copper pennies

If leprechauns lived in Idaho, this is the month I'd most likely see one. That's because leprechauns are particularly active in spring, when everything is turning green and budding.

Just this morning while I wandered around outside counting my emerging tulips and daffodils, I heard a tap, tap tapping coming from a row of arborvitae. Knowing leprechauns are cobblers by profession and like to hide in hedgerows, I stopped and listened. I even snooped behind the bushes looking for a crooked hat and tiny hammer, but not one leprechaun did I see.

I shouldn't be surprised. Leprechauns are mischievous and cunning. Tricksters by nature, my chances of seeing one, let alone catching one, are slim.

Since leprechauns enjoy solitude and remote locations, I might fight one hiding in the rocky crags of the Snake River Canyon near Centennial Park where a drunken leprechaun might mistake the Perrine Bridge for a rainbow, or I might find one hiding in the cellars out at Stricker Ranch, because leprechauns like to hide near farmhouses and wine cellars.

But I'm hoping a leprechaun might also enjoy the solitude of the country. Out here at Pauly’s Folly, we rarely hear a siren or the noise of rushing traffic. It's usually quiet and peaceful with plenty of places to hide.

Legend has it if I could catch a leprechaun, he would barter his release by offering me his pot of gold. Since I'm planning a trip to the ocean this summer, a pot of gold would sure come in handy. So, while I'm working in my garden I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open, hoping to spot a leprechaun. Knowing they like things that glisten, I may even set a trap. I've heard that if you put copper pennies and an old shoe in a box, a leprechaun will come. Then all you have to do is snap the lid on the box, and voila, you have him.

But I'm not holding my breath. This is Idaho, not Ireland. Even if I were fortunate enough to capture a leprechaun and convince him to take me to his pot of gold, it would be just my luck that instead of gold, all I'd find would be a big pot of potatoes.