Squirrels! ~ For Marie

It seems like eons ago that I promised my dear friend Marie a blogging suprise. Here it is! I've been stalking the squirrels in my yard for you. These are the cutest shots I've captured....

Sneaking food from the bird feeder...


Oops! I've been caught!


Double trouble!


Three's not a crowd! It's a party!



Last but not least, this is an older picture captured using a phone. The squirrels don't hold back when diving into the birdfeeders for food! And bonus...this picture comes with a story.

It was a cold and rainy morning, and when I looked out my window, I saw something strange. A squirrel had fallen into the tall feeder. Imagine with me: "I... just... want... one... last... whoops! Oh no, I've fallen in!" With me?

The feeder is pretty tall, and the inside surface is completely smooth, so there is no way that squirrel was climbing out. So after having a good chuckle (because who wouldn't?), I decided to have pity on this poor creature and set it free. I walked outside, in the rain, lifted the feeder off the hook, and laid it on the ground.

The squirrel, plainly terrified, bolted toward the tree in front of him. But right when his little nose reached the tip of the feeder, he stopped and snapped back as if he came to the end of a very short leash. Have you seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" You know when the main character gets up to walk across her travel office, forgetting she's still wearing her headset? It was a moment just like that.

Being the kind, compassionate person I am. I simply tipped the feeder completely upside down and gave it a good shake. The little dear was hanging by his tale, and wasn't going anywhere. He was also really scared, and thought I was going to eat him or something, so he kept backing further into the feeder. Which wasn't helping at all.

I was puzzled for a moment, and then realized what had happened. The birdfeeder was springloaded to make it "squirrel proof." Of course, you see how that stopped the squirrels right? "You're going to make the perches close if I put weight on them...fine! I'll pop off the top and feed straight from there! Ha!" ...I digress. When the squirrel had fallen in, and probably tried to jump out a time or two, his tale had become entangled in the springs at the bottom of the feeder.

So after having yet another good laugh, I unhooked all the springs, and left the little dear to figure it out. It was a chilly, rainy morning. But he at least had the comfort of a "roof" to keep him dry.

When I checked back later that day, he was gone. So even though the rescue operation didn't go as smoothly as I had originally imagined it would, it was a success. And as you can see from the newer pictures at the top, we've gotten rid of the nasty, squirrel-eating feeder.