Sunday, February 2, 2014

Determination, thy name is squirrel

I was goofing around on the computer this morning when I suddenly got the feeling I was being watched. So I turned towards the back door....
"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you on a Sunday, but might you have anything to eat?"
And that blue bucket he's sitting on... yes, that's the bird seed bucket. Rocky of course, had to come see who I was talking to.
"Hello Cat. Do you know how to get this bucket open?"
Now I know some people look on squirrels as mere rodents - pests who steal all the seed from the pretty birds. They go to great lengths to keep the squirrels from getting the bird seed. But me, I'm a sucker for anything with fur. (Okay, I'm a sucker for any animal really - I even save spiders...). The bird feeder was full, but I saw no reason that I couldn't make a little seed more accessible, since he was asking so nicely. A line of seed sprinkled along the sill of the sliding door also provides hours of cat entertainment...
"Hurry up woman! But don't let that cat out, he looks hungrier than I am."
Of course, when I got to the seed bucket, I discovered just how hungry poor little squirrel was.
I hope that plastic doesn't upset his tummy.

That's a completely different hole than the last attempt... and it's almost squirrel sized. From now on, the seed is going to be kept indoors, and I think I'm going to have to invest in a bag of peanuts on grocery day.

12 comments:

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Yes, seed stays inside. We have big buckets too. Through the winter we mostly rely on peanut halves - most energy for all the birds and other wildlife.

lexa said...

lol - They're worse than kids! Entertaining to watch, though. Must drive the cats nuts. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my ....he (she?) made quite a large hole in your bucket.

You are so sweet to give Mr/Mrs. Squirrel a nice meal.

Araignee said...

We've had the squirrels eat holes in the trash cans lids. We feed them as often as we can but too often they end up cat food for the ferals which upsets me to death. I know outdoor cats have to hunt but I hate it when I see it. As much money as I spend in cat food for them, you'd think they'd let the outside critters alone.

Rachelle said...

Lets hope he didn't actually eat the plastic; can't be good for him! I suspect if you want to keep seed outside with him there you need steel.

Unknown said...

Goodness! That is one cute but naughty squirrel! Squirrels are very rare in Amsterdam, so we only get to feed the birds and the ducks over here..

RobinH said...

Squirrels can squish through surprisingly small holes. We sometimes put out food for the squirrels, on the theory that the cats love to watch them all (we call it C-SAN, the Crunchy Small Animal Network). But I think the Chipmunk Show is their favorite.

Unknown said...

I didn't know squirrels could chew right through a plastic lid. Good heavens! But I can imagine how entertaining he would be to watch.

Samantha said...

Squirrels are awesome. I have some that sit on the little windows (outside obviously) in the living room. They peek there all the time. Hilarious.

kathy b said...

One of his KIND, ate through my car locks when he couldn't find his way back outside my car. He found his way in and could not find his way out

Knatolee said...

Oh good lord, squirrels!!! They have destroyed our brand-new gas grill cover. Those suckers love to gnaw. But boy, great amusement for cats! :)

Delusional Knitter said...

We feed the squirrels seed and peanuts all year (and chipmunks) - but we did learn quickly to get a baffle for the feeder pole, which works wonderfully and was quite a sight to watch them try and figure out when we first put it up - they would go up to the bird feeders and empty them in short order all the time - which drove us crazy. We do keep the seed in the house - its a pain to fill the feeders that way, but you see how determined they can be, LOL!!!