The squirrels and I continue our battle over the garden plots. They are determined to eat us out of house and home and I am equally determined to salvage what I can. This war has waged on ever since my "Big Mama" rat snake has either gone on to other areas or has met her untimely demise. She kept things in check and I fully appreciated her efforts. Of course, her hiding spot of the rose arbors has been demolished so perhaps she felt uncomfortable being so exposed. Whatever the cause, I miss her dearly. The snake had become "one of the family" and fully did her part to help out around here. Now, the squirrels have free rein to do as they please and that usually means raiding the garden.
Recently, I decided that perhaps plying the fluffy rodents with an alternate source of food would deter them. It has somewhat but they still steal figs and tomatoes occasionally. The free food in the bird feeders has only made the squirrels bolder. Now, they have no qualms about visiting even when I am in the gardens. This was not the idea I had in mind as I have birdseed far down the hill where they can eat in peace and leave my garden in peace. Nope, one glorified rat insists on eating out of the makeshift feeder at the front door. This is an overturned glass tabletop that works well at keeping the seeds from spilling on the ground. One rascal will come down the oak tree next to the house and sneak to the feeder. If he fills his belly, he will promptly lie down and take a snooze...ON THE FEEDER! He keeps birds from eating all of the seeds by covering it with his sprawled out body! Smart but aggravating.
This afternoon, I was sitting in a chair next to his usual route of the oak tree. Even before I could see the squirrel, his little feet could be heard scritching along the bark. The critter did not stop descending the tree until he was just three feet from me. Then, he sat, looked at me and went no further. After ten minutes of waiting for me to leave, the fluffbum decided that I needed scolding. He did! That did it! I stood up and shooed the squirrel back up the tree with the water hose! Silly critter! I guess until another rat snake takes up residence in the garden, my war shall continue even though this is one cute villain!
For the past few mornings, there has been a visitor in the gardens. A male skink has been trying to set his dominance over the other male skinks that live in the area. This newcomer has decided that he should be ruler. The upstart is boisterous, arrogant and is a big showoff. Two mornings ago, this rapscallion decided to physically attack the older ruler of "Skinkland". Mark witnessed the ambush and called my attention to it. The newcomer was trying to overpower the older, weaker skink and was doing a pretty good job of it. In fact, the younger, stronger skink had a "death grip" on the head of the old King. It was not a pretty sight but I grabbed the camera to see if I could document this moment in the "wild". Needless to say, when I stuck the camera close to the lizard fight, it gave the old lizard the opportunity it needed to cut loose and escape. Our old ruler ran under the house, all the while, being chased by the rogue. I figured the melee was over and soon forgot about the skinks.
This morning, however, I noticed that the Old King had taken refuge in the hollow trunk of an oak tree near the house. He had come out of a small fissure in a tree root and was trying to soak up a bit of sunshine. The poor fellow looked a mite worse for wear after the battle. He appeared weakened and almost saddened. I suppose he had to relinquish his crown to the young whippersnapper and that did not set well. His plight touched me as I could commiserate with the fact of getting old. Life is sometimes not fair to lizard kings nor old ladies.
The Old King and I sat in quiet respectfulness for a good while. Neither of us made the attempt to try to understand why things happen but we just shared a bit of peace. After a bit, I reassured the Old King that he was still needed and offered him friendship. I hope he has complete peace in his new dwelling spot. I am not sure the New King will rule nearly so fairly as the Old King had. The garden spot is changing.
