My Temple of Nature: Saucy Squirrels

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Saucy Squirrels

The other morning I heard the pitter patter of little footsteps on my roof. Knowing that it was probably a squirrel, I went to investigate. Usually when I hear squirrels on the roof, it means that they are about to raid the bird feeder or suet which hangs from the edge of the awning over my patio. I arrived in the living room just in time to see the squirrel hanging precariously from the bird feeder. I quickly opened the front door and the squirrel made a flying leap off the bird feeder, but not before it had grabbed a peanut. It then proceeded to sit on my steps looking right at me while it ate the peanut it had just stolen as if to say, "Yeah, so whataya gonna' do about it."

I regularly put out birdseed and peanuts on the ground both for the birds and the squirrels with the hopes that it will prevent the raiding, but to no avail, although this particularly morning I hadn't yet put out their daily rations. The squirrels love sunflower seeds sometimes even preferring them over the peanuts. I watch them eat their fill and then start burying treasures around the yard for future consumption. But they never go to those stashes while there is still food in the feeder.

I have to say that the squirrels are pretty good about sharing, especially this past winter when we had so much snow.

I was looking through a catalog last night at garden 'things' and one of the items was a metal silhouette of a cat which was supposed to help scare away the squirrels. No, that definitely wouldn't work here because the cats and the squirrels get along too well. While the squirrels do keep an eye on the cats, the cats are more likely to play with them than have more sinister intentions, and the squirrels seem to know which ones to be wary of and which ones mean no harm.

I just see the Eastern gray squirrel around my house, but occasionally we would Abert's Squirrels when I lived in Colorado. Quite a treat with their tufted ears and darker fur.