S is for sneak thief!

...otherwise known as the grey squirrel

  who is rather fond of helping himself to the food I put out for the birds.

You have to admire his agility,

his cheek,

and his persistence!

He has a few more seeds to go yet, so while he's finishing their dinner, maybe you would like to saunter over to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday to see what else is on offer.

May contain crocus >:(

This little fella and I had a bit of a falling out earlier!

Now I do like squirrels. http://h-little-sealed-packages.blogspot.com/2010/02/take-away-food.html   I don't mind when they dig holes in my garden; they are usually very good at filling them in again. I don't mind when they nibble at the fruit on the apple tree in the autumn; there's plenty for all. I don't even mind them trying to break into the bird feeders; mainly because it hasn't worked! BUT, I was rather peeved as I arrived back from Sainsbury's this morning, to see this cheeky little tyke bound up my garden path, break the yellow head off one of my newly opened crocuses, sit bolt upright and begin to tuck in.

He didn't tuck in for long! He took one look at the speed with which I was emerging through the patio door and ran for his life!

Irrepressible as ever though, three hours later, here he is, ears pricked up, twinkle in his eye, helping himself to peanuts as if nothing had happened. And he's welcome!

Meanwhile, I got the wished for bright yellow sunshine and my crocuses have responded beautifully.

http://h-little-sealed-packages.blogspot.com/2010/02/yellow.html

May contain nuts

I know some people call them tree rats and they invade lofts and do damage etc, but I really like squirrels - even grey ones. My next door neighbour has a large leylandii tree which houses a whole colony of squirrels, so I am fortunate enough to see them on an almost daily basis. I particularly love to watch them chasing each other through the branches of the trees. The speed and acrobatics are amazing. My eldest son relates one occasion when the patio door was wide open and a pair of squirrels chased in through the door, round the room and out again, all at breakneck speed.

I must admit to having lost at least two bird feeders to gnawing squirrels, but the ones I have now are veritable fortresses and they seem to be standing up very well. To compensate for this lack of generosity, I keep a bag of peanuts just inside my patio door and tip out a small pile most days. Two autumns ago, I had a particularly cheeky character who would virtually push his nose up against the glass, giving me a less than subtle hint that he wanted feeding. The present bunch are slightly more wary, but still come to check the 'peanut area' frequently.

Once the nuts are discovered, it is not unusual to have a queue of squirrels waiting to help themselves. There is a definite pecking order - or maybe I should call it a 'grab and go' order. The 'top-dog' squirrel will be there first, while numbers two and three wait; one on the garage roof and the other on the fence. Once Top-Dog has stuffed as many nuts into his mouth as is physically possible, he will bound off to dig yet another hole somewhere nearby and bury them. Chance for number two to move in and do likewise. Number three now has to be very quick, because if he lingers, Top-Dog will be back for the next load. Crossovers do happen from time to time and always result in the lesser squirrel having to execute an emergency exit; claws scrabbling, fur standing on end - which, from my point of view is very entertaining, but maybe not from his!