I had kind of hoped that another topic would present itself, but here I am, stuck with squirrels. They were out in force today – as many as I’ve ever seen gathered by our bird feeders. If Alfred Hitchcock wanted to take another run at a horror film after having filmed “The Birds,” he could take a pass at it with squirrels.
They come across as very playful, busy critters, but I was once followed by a horde of them at a park when I was in college and it was very creepy. When I say “horde,” I mean about ten of them.
I admire their chompers, though. We had a black walnut tree once and I decided to make black walnut cookies. That’s when I found out how hard they are to crack to get the meat out. I had to put each one in a vice and tighten it until it basically exploded. My husband did not appreciate this assault on his workshop. But watch a squirrel with one of those walnuts – child’s play! And no explosions either. This also makes me determined not to let one of those little buggers get ahold of one of my fingers.
We had six of them frolicking around eating all the bird seed today. You’ll find this incredible, but I have a favorite. He’s a little smaller than the rest and incredibly jumpy, which makes me think that he’s probably a runt that’s had to endure teasing by his older rodent siblings.
And now, for the grand finale: squirrel verse.
“Quit eating our suet!”
Said the bird to the squirrel
They began to fight,
A creaturely quarrel.
And while they were at it,
The other squirrels came
And had a nice feast
While watching the game.
That’s called “speed poetry.” It doesn’t take long and you don’t get much.
This is such a nutty post that squirrels will probably crack it into pieces and eat it in the morning.
Lynniebeemuseoday 