Breakfast with the Squirrels - And Squirrel Archive

 

I provide a lot of leftover fruit for the birds, squirrels, and possums. One pineapple was so aged in the refrigerator that I cut slices into its rugged hide and tossed it outside for the evening possum visit. The pineapple evaporated overnight.

Today I had two fat slices of pineapple for breakfast. The fruit is loaded with Vitamin C and manganese - and also helps the sinuses.

I hope the Jackson have breakfast ready.

I quarter the slices and eat them down to the armored shell. I put them on the recycle bin lid and waited. Soon a plump squirrel was sitting on his haunches and eating the pineapple shell with great gusto. Soon a group of squirrels began an assault on his lofty position and began chasing each other around the yard, up and down trees as well - very entertaining. Later the scraps were gone and I left some apple cores.

Dr. Fuhrman expects me to eat 4-6 fruit servings a day, which is fairly easy once fruits and vegetables displace Fritos, Christmas candy, fast food, cheese, eggs, and large portions of meat. 

If the ratio of candy sales to fresh frozen vegetables does not appall the shopper, then one can calculate the cost of the sugared nostrums in the pharmacy area. A large share of the over-the-counter cures are sugar-based and considered useless but tasty. I said it before - ground up fiber sold at a high cost is far more profitable and less effective than fibrous foods - beans, peas, fruits, etc. 

Who buys and uses Metamucil? Correct - those with bad digestion are ample proof that the nostrum does not work, except for making fruit and vegetable addicts shudder with horror. 

Inexpensive Entertainment. Cardinals by Norma A. Boeckler

 

Several times I have bought popcorn with the thought the birds and squirrels would have a delightful treat. The kettle corn went first into the human kettle. Dr. Fuhrman would frown.

I saw an air popper, which is quick working and fat free, so I got that for the squirrels. A few warm, popped ones (without sugar) were tasty but not exactly temptation. I put a warm pile of fresh popcorn on one barrel outside. 

Soon a squirrel was stretched across the whole pile, as if warming up or simply saying, "I found it. The popcorn is all mine."

Nothing lights up Creation like popcorn. All the birds come down for some, if I scatter them in the four wire baskets and the two barrel tops.

The animal restaurant business is going so well that I had a male cardinal land in the front yard looking at me. He was perched on a Clethra shrub. Next he hopped even closer. I promised more food in the back.

He may be the cardinal who landed on the kitchen ledge outside and peered inside to see if I was incapacitated and no longer feeding the birds and squirrels. Cardinals, especially male cardinals, are shy - except when they are spoiled and hungry.

Bob's mother used to talk to the cardinals at their feeder, so close she could almost pet them.

When bad weather is predicted - every other day - I make sure I have shelled peanuts or peanuts in the shell for our winged and four-legged entertainers. If I feel like a little popcorn, I spread the rest outside.

Low-Cost Home Entertainment Center

"Don't worry, Filbert. After nursing is over, the Jacksons will provide various foods for you - and ring the bell."

 Later, Filbert grew quickly on nuts and snacks, but found himself getting sleepy when overfeeding.

Someone reminded me that people still go to movie theaters, which recalled popcorn buckets, diet Coke, and overpriced tickets. "Do you want butter on your popcorn?" GJ - "That is not butter - it's motor oil. I saw a bag of it poured into the tank. Everyone said Ew-w-w-w-w-w."

There are many overpriced foods for squirrels and birds, but a bit of selection will yield a good supply of entertainment for a week, far more fun than Ninja Turtles XII or Star Warship on the Angry Red Planet.

New feeding areas are avoided until the animals feel safe, so allow about two weeks for real fun.

I have three zones for feeding now, and three sources of fresh water for drinking or bathing. Each feeding area has one or two places for observation.

1. Garbage barrels. Their tops are large and designed to drain water away. They can be cleaned easily, unlike bird feeders from the store. I also use window ledges and the ground. More birds and squirrels come at a time that way, and we have a slow but methodical possum at night.

2. Metal wire baskets - I suspended them from the house to provide birds and squirrels with some extra exercise. A squirrel in a basket is hilarious, and so is a bird hopping in and out to get the food and eat it elsewhere.

3. The suet baskets. The squirrels ate seed enhanced suet so I keep pure suet in the baskets now and some seed in the actual feeder. Brutal weather brings the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Starlings, Woodpeckers, Finches, and Chickadees. Suet lasts longer than any other food. The suet-eaters are all bug chasers, so they should be coddled.

 "The price of tickets! You throw away $20 instead of dollars for feeding me!"

One Benefit of Cold, Wind, and Snow - Bird and Squirrel Fun

I have sunflower seeds for a meet and greet tomorrow.

We felt the cold rolling in yesterday, but this morning was special, the coldest night in 40 years was followed by winds and snow. But when the going gets tough, the tough feed the birds. Sassy and I did our normal Sunday morning walk (shorter than usual) and she watched me jog backwards and ahead of her too. She froze, to coin a term. Sassy does the running. 

If you enjoy these Blue Angels, buy some whole peanuts at the hardware store.

We got back and I explored the bird and squirrel feeding menu.

1. Squirrel food is heavy on corn but includes sunflower seeds and peanuts in the shell.
2. Shelled peanuts smell delicious and attract more varieties.
3. A few almonds add to the selection, tilted toward the larger birds and hungry squirrels.

 Which cardinal is prettier, male or female?
Scholars are divided.

The little birds pick at the corn and larger nuts. We had quite a convention. Ranger Bob was coming over, so I poured two piles of peanuts in the shell on the barrels and the third feeder. Two things help a lot - 

• open, washable, easy-draining garbage barrels, 
• low brush and trashy garden areas.

The barrel food was covered with snow in an hour, so I broomed some snow away to show the animals how many calories were below the white stuff. Blue jays hit the covered peanuts and took off with their prizes. It was a squadron of three, one after another - the Blue Angels of Creation.

"He built this swing and filled these treasure-houses, just so I could balance on the wire and eat all I want. Water and bathing are below."

When Bob and I were talking and drinking coffee, I saw a lot of activity in the air. I suggested that Bob look out the kitchen window. One garbage barrel was packed with starlings eating and jostling at the same time.

The brushes and "dead" Poke Weed serve as perches for small birds. They like to look around in safety, and those slender remnants are perfect for their weight and little more.

The males hide their gold most of the year, so we appreciate the male goldfinches that much more when they wear their livery. They love sunflowers seeds and "thistle." Retailers love "thistle," so little for so much money.

Impertinent, Spoiled Squirrel Solicits Food at the Kitchen Window

Sassy and I have an arrangement. She likes fresh Moist and Meaty dogfood, and I like to feed the birds. Therefore, she gets a fresh little bag of her regular food - after I have tossed the dried remnants on the garbage barrel lids. She waits for some treats to be added on top of the fresh food. Ranger Bob has spoiled her terribly - I keep telling him.

I was shopping on an icy day recently, so I bought a cheap bag of birdfeed, mostly corn kernels and random bits of peanuts and sunflower seeds. I scatter that on the lawn and on the barrel lids.

I looked out the window one morning to check the barrels - and saw a juvenile squirrel go through its comedy or drama - starving, needs food immediately, thousands will disappear, maybe forever. He peered into the kitchen to see if compassion was still a virtue in our household.

It was a warm, sunny day with an abundance of food available. I laughed and took a bunch out for him and his tribe.

 The bird swing became Interstate 1 for the squirrels. They could balance on the metal and eat with a little practice. 

Study uncovers surprising things about squirrels | National | bakersfield.com

 My butler Greg Jackson knew this years ago.
Where is his gubmint grant?

Study uncovers surprising things about squirrels | National | bakersfield.com:



"In one experiment, Delgado tested how squirrels assess food when provided nuts of different values. She presented participating squirrels with a specific order of hazelnuts and peanuts and observed the following behaviors for each nut: the number of head flicks, the time manipulating the nut with the paw, the time until the nut was eaten or cached, the number of incomplete caches before a successful cache and the time spent covering a cached nut.

Turning a nut around in their paws serves multiple functions. It helps the squirrels assess the integrity of the nut and spot any holes or cracks in the shell. Imperfections could indicate the nut is more susceptible to rot. They also might be the best entry points for breaking into the shell."

 These boys were waiting a few feet away until I filled their feeder with sunflower seeds.

'via Blog this'

 Our squirrels are not spoiled.

Squirrels Ask for a Draw

"We will accept a draw. We get one feeder.
The birds get the rest. Deal?"

I checked the squirrel dominance of the feeders by removing the window screen that served  them so well in gaining a toehold for their back legs. Stretching across the void, they grabbed the central feeder and scared the birds away.

With the slippery surface of the window allowing no purchase for their rear feet, the squirrels went back to the trees to debate, decide, and offer a compromise.

They will still nibble from their position on the brick wall, but let the birds feed from every other vantage point:

• The central sunflower feeder
• The suet feeders
• The finch feeder
• The ground.

The platform feeder, now close to the ground and packed with kernels of field corn, will be a de-militarized zone for birds and squirrels to share. Both favor sunflower seeds but are willing to eat corn on a bad day.

Cardinals Win - Squirrels Lose

 Squirrels feel entitled.

Readers remember that I changed the bird-feeder configuration to outsmart the squirrels, who used the platform feeder and the squirrel-proof (sic) feeder to reach the two hanging sunflower seed feeders.

I was only partially successful, which will surprise no one. The squirrels began using the screen, hanging on by their toes, to reach and hold onto one hanging feeder. The second feeder was reachable from the brick wall, but not so easily grabbed and held.

Seeing a mature squirrel stretched from the window screen to the hanging feeder, keeping the birds away, I went looking for screen-removal tools. Unlike most handyman ventures, I did not break anything this time as I popped the screen out.

I moved the screen to the Great Room (formerly the garage) and came back to hear sweet words - "The squirrel is having a meltdown on the window sill."

Soon after, one squirrel was gamely trying to get a sunflower seeds while a male cardinal sat majestically on the central feeder, calming enjoying his seeds, out of reach.

 "Yer eating my food!"

Spring in Springale - Squirrels Lost a Round - Birds Ahead in Feeding

 Inside information - squirrels bought out the Slinky business
and began running Facebook posts on how effective Slinkies
are against squirrels. Win/win.
The truth.

Spring has arrived early in Springdale, with shirtsleeve weather outside and gentle rains falling. We had no real leaf drop until late, and then Christmas was upon us. My biggest find was in Fayetteville, when I filled our Town Car with leaf bags.

I was happy about our bird-feeding array, and tragically, so were the squirrels. One stood on the platform feeder to reach the hanging sunflower seed feeder. Another leaned over from the brick wall to reach the second hanging feeder.

Cancel your Slinky order - squirrels can reach out and hold their bodies parallel to the ground, simply hanging onto a window screen or a brick wall with their hind feet. Once they capture the feeder with their front paws, eating is easy.

Filled with wrath, I went outside to move the platform feeder. I pulled the feeder's extension pipe out to begin taking apart the platform or a move away from the handing feeders.

The bottom pipe was supported by a cinder block, gravel in the holes, and a clay foundation. That part would not move, even though the soil was soft and moist from the rains, dug by earthworms and mixed by moles.

Saving work is like saving money - very enjoyable. I decided to leave the extension pipe out, refill the platform feeder with fresh corn, and let any creature feeding near the ground try to stretch up to the hanging devices. The newly shortened platform feeder was several squirrel lengths from reaching the hanging feeder.

I filled the hanging feeders with sunflower seeds and waited for the creatures to get over the shock of a minor change. Food overcame their caution and soon we had all kinds of birds - even Cardinals - feeding from the hanging sunflower seed feeders with no meddling by squirrels.

Naturally, the squirrels came back, but they no longer have a dominating effect on the food supply. They have to work to get at a few seeds, but the birds can light on the opposite side of the hanging feeders, get their food, and leave.

Group memory - have squirrels seen King Kong
and passed along this trick to scare away birds?

No more King Kong antics, batting away the birds.

Wednesday's forecast - rain, 60 degrees.

Squirrel Tales - As One Reader Describes Them

Shock or boredom?

Several readers suggested that I put a Slinky around the pole holding up the bird feeder. That solution appeared on Facebook, reminding me of the weed killer recipe (Dawn detergent, Epson salts, Agent Orange? Napalm?).

The problem with any solution concerning squirrels, as Dr. Bruce Church conceded, is that squirrels defeat the clever ruse in time.

Squirrels have range-finder eyes. If you have ever used one in a camera, the image is brought together when the focus is perfect. I had an Argus camera that did this and produced perfect photos. Now lasers do the job for us. God designed them for squirrels, and they work very well.

If squirrels are defeated on the pole, they simply land on top, even if they miss a few times. Once they have the distance, the feeder is theirs. As I wrote earlier, the squirrel-proof lever that kept the seed locked up - yes that one - it was jiggled to drop seed into the squirrels mouth below. One paw on the pole, one on the lever, open mouth, serve the sunflower seeds until full.

I had a solution once. I put tree stickum on the pole. That kept the squirrels off the pole for a long time, until they said "No way" and climbed through the goo and left it all over the house and window. I got to clean it off, which was time-consuming and sticky beyond belief.

No matter what I do to the pole, the squirrels will climb the Butterfly Bush next to the two poles (platform and squirrel-proof feeders). The main thing protecting the squirrel-proof feeder is its cargo of finch food. Squirrels will ravage that too, if nothing else is available.

They have:

• Sunflower seeds.
• Suet.
• Thistle (nyjer).
• Corn.

Squirrels are always entertaining: always energetic, gymnastic champions, high wire artists, and clowns.

 I once moved the wedding cake slice stored in a tree.
The squirrel fetched it earlier from the garbage can and saved it in the original zip-loc bag. I moved it and squirrel looked at me in a rage.