For an hour this morning, Portland police worried that a makeshift diorama containing a packet of tomato seeds, a flannel shirt and a computer mouse spotted along Southwest 14th Avenue at Taylor Street might be a bomb.

At 8:40 a.m., police were called to investigate a suspicious box near along 14th Avenue and above southbound I-405. Police quickly blocked traffic while officers in protective gear responded to examine the cardboard box perched atop a green utility box.

It was not immediately clear what the diorama was intended to be. An owl? A scarecrow? A statement about the

planned for later in the day?

Passersby pointed out that it had been standing there fore at least a week.

After deeming the art project to be harmless, police left the box, complete with light bulb, fuzzy orange top, and a tiny thank you card, where it stood.

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-- The Oregonian