Horticulture Automaton

I once saw a video of an antique mechanical toy which showed a hobo fishing in a creek. Every time he dropped in his line he caught something different, a rusty can, an old boot, a whole series of useless things. It intrigued me and set me attempting to make a mechanism which would achieve something similar. This automaton is the result. It’s subject was suggested by my wife’s vegetable garden and by an old poster on my workshop wall of “Song of the Lark“ by Jules Breton.