Sometimes You Just Gotta Give

   With all of the property to our west being totally clear-cut, it leaves very little space for the animals that were dwelling there.  All of the dens and nests (some already containing little ones) have been destroyed and all any "slow moving" critters perished under the huge equipment.  Those that were able to escape have nowhere else to go except here.  It saddens me that greed can overtake commonsense.  Folks, we have to leave some green space for the critters of this world.  It is not our place to obliterate all of nature.

  That said, I am overrun with critters now.  They are literally starving and have taken to raiding the fruit trees and gardens.  If I learned one thing from Pop, it is important to share what foodstuffs you have so I guess that is what is happening.  It used to irk me that the squirrels would raid the birdseed that I put out each morning.  Sometimes up to ten squirrels would be squabbling over the sunflower seeds which left little for my bird friends.  I tried shooing the fluffy tailed rodents.  I tried fancy squirrel baffles.  I tried hot sauce laced birdseed.  Nothing worked...so, I embraced the little fluff-butts and ceded to their demands.  

  This afternoon, one squirrel was quite adamant about getting its belly full at my expense.  Even though I was working in the flower gardens just a few feet away, this squirrel kept coming to steal seeds.  It would grab a sunflower seed and hop up on the post to eat it.  Then, down to the seed again only to hop back up on the post.  The critter was too cute so I decided to help it out a bit.  A whole handful of seeds was placed on the post.  As soon as I started weeding again, the squirrel bounced back grabbed a seed and hopped to its post.  Imagine its surprise when it found about a cup of seeds laid out for it!  That squirrel hit the jackpot!

  If the friendly squirrel comes back again in the morning, I shall repeat the process.  Perhaps, if I feed it enough here, it will leave the tomatoes alone.  If not, I shall just have one fat squirrel on my hands!  

The Brazen One

  One thing or another has taken out my bird feeders.  The raccoons literally stole the suet baskets, termites ate the box feeders and squirrels ruined the "squirrel-proof" hanging feeders.  Now, I have an old glass tabletop sitting upside-down on a wicker table.  It serves the purpose and can feed dozens at a time.  Birds flock to it even though I am working the gardens just a few feet away.  There is also one brazen squirrel that continually fights the birds for rights to the seeds.  This squirrel is not the only one that comes but it is the one that chases off the birds.  The others simply share the space and are happy to have breakfast.

  Today, the foul-tempered rodent was chased off numerous times within an hour but kept right on returning.  After about a dozen times of me shooing the rascal off of the table, he got a bit too insolent!  The squirrel would not even leave!  I shooed.  He stayed. I opened the garden gate and shooed.  He stayed.  Finally, I had enough and stomped my way to the table. The Brazen One hopped to the dead black gum tree, climbed about four feet off the ground and turned to bark at me! 

  Yes, this is the same squirrel that scolded me for breaking up the "bar brawl" a week ago but now he is not even making the effort to scamper out of reach!   All I can say is that this rascal better watch his step as I am just about to the point of getting a trap and relocating his sorry behind all the way to my daughter's house.  She has made the remark that there are no squirrels on the property where she lives.  That may change real soon!  (She probably will not appreciate my rodent donation, however!)

The Bottomless Pits!

  With every hike about the hillside, I seem to be finding more and more grey squirrels are moving in on us.  Since the property to our west has been clear cut, the animals there had no place to go...except here.  Now, I am overrun with every critter imaginable.  Most are skittish and are staying in the wooded area behind the house.  The squirrels, however, have decided that the yard is their preferred residence.  Perhaps since the family of bobcats, a dozen or so coyotes and just as many fox are in the back, the squirrels are staying in the front.  To be honest, those predators need to thin the crop of squirrels a bit.  They are obliterating my garden!

  Most folks have a huge misconception about the squirrels.  It seems that a lot of people think that squirrels are cute and cuddly.  They have this idea that squirrels are a lot like house cats but nicer since "they only eat nuts and won't catch birds".  Who are you trying to kid?  Granted a squirrel is not going to catch a full grown bird, but, face it, squirrels are omnivorous. They can and will eat anything they can overpower...and that includes birds.  Usually, they stick to raiding nests and robbing the eggs but, occasionally, that nest may have tiny birds so that changes things.  Yep, the squirrel will still devour what is in the nest but their appetite changes from eggs to nestlings.  

  Today as I was wandering the gardens, I thought of how squirrels will just about eat anything.  With the onslaught of critters, I have lost peaches, plums and tomatoes to the rascals.  They are eating the green (unopened) pine cones and a few of the hickory nuts.  It was this afternoon that I saw a young squirrel eating yet a different kind of meal.  This rascal had caught and was devouring a cicada.  I don't trust the squirrels.  They eat just about anything so it is best to not leave anything that is valued out in the garden!  They will have it in a heartbeat!

Garden Varmints!

  Well, this is it.  This, my friends, shows the results of time and work.  The picture shows the entirety of green beans in the garden.  No, this is not all of the seeds that I planted.  In fact, the pole bean seeds were overcrowded in the two rows.  This, however, is the whole shebang.  What happened?  Did the seeds just not sprout?  Were they all duds?  Nope.  A fine, little friend decided to help himself to my seeds.  Ugh!  Varmints!  While I adore all of my critter friends, when they start eating my garden, they become varmints! 

  After patiently waiting nigh on two weeks for the seeds to sprout and only getting two plants, I started watching.  Nothing happened during the day.  Nothing happened in the late afternoon.  It was those early hours that found the culprit busy at work.  Even after cleaning the row, the little squirrel still dug frantically to find more seeds.  That rascal cleaned my bean row of every last seed except these two.  Two plants will never make a mess for supper and surely won't provide enough to home can!

  While this is bad news about the beans, it is only a harbinger of what is to come.  I can pretty much count on the same squirrel (and friends) to raid the garden once the tomatoes, peaches and figs ripen.  Since I am not much on killing critters, I will have to find other ways to divert their attention.  None of the scare tactics work.  The flashing, sparkly pans dangling in the tree limbs were ignored and the decoy snakes and owls were used as perches.  In fact, one rubber snake actually was used to line a nest!  I have tried to convince Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess (cat), to stay in the garden but she would rather snooze on the sofa.  The old dog, Mr. PJ, has no energy to chase squirrels, so he is not a help.  I am at wit's end searching for a solution.  In the meantime, the seeds will be replanted and perhaps some wire mesh placed over the rows.  Something has to help!

Been Toppled

  Back when they were small, my kids had a game called "Topple".  It consisted of a wobbly tower like structure and some strange little game pieces.  The idea was to see how many of  your color pieces you could stack on the tower before the whole thing went kerplunk.  You had to have a steady hand and a keen eye for balancing.  The kids played with the thing occasionally but it was then stuck in the cabinet to be lost among the other board games.  Here recently, I donated the whole shebang of games where, hopefully, someone else can get some use out of them.

  The toppling of this morning had nothing to do with a balancing game but appeared to be a game nonetheless.  Obviously, squirrels like to have fun, too! With all of the rain pouring down upon the Bayou and surrounding hillside, mushrooms of all sorts have sprouted up everywhere in the yard.  This morning, I noticed that dozens of the mushrooms had been toppled. Some had wee nibbles taken from an edge but most were just sort of uprooted and left to rot.  The squirrels seemed to taste one now and again only to toss it to the wayside.

  So, it came to thought that the squirrels were just out to have a bit of fun.  I guess playing with your food spans across the board even to the critter world!

Gotta Get Those Chores Done!

  It was instilled in me as a child back on the farm to rise early in the morn, jump right into chores and then kick back a bit in the heat of the day.  Even now, my day starts long before the sun rises.  As the coffee is brewing, laundry is done, cat fed, dog fed and breakfast is made.  Then, as the dog takes his hike down the hill, I go to the pier to watch the sun rise above the pines.  Twenty minutes later, it is back to the house to complete the inside chores before heading to the gardens for a few moments and then on to the major task of redoing the Little Bayou House.  Carpentry work is tiring to me but if I want it done, I need to help.  So goes the day.  Then about 1pm, when the heat of the day starts to get so stifling that it is hard to breathe, I grab my lemonade, iced herbed tea or sweet tea and head to the yard.  There, in the shade of the big black gum tree, I can find a bit of respite in the cooling bay breezes. 

  This downtime also gives me time to observe the happenings of the Bayou and surrounding wooded areas.  Critters don't seem to mind the heat as much and keep on their daily tasks.  This afternoon, a small, female gray squirrel was one busy little camper.  She was building a nest where an oak limb wrapped around a pine tree.  The nest was basically complete but obviously needed a bit of interior design work.  She would scamper up the large oak branch, gnaw off a few twigs, stuff them in her mouth then hustle back to her dwelling.  Inside, she meticulously lined the nest with strips of the leaves.  This is only one layer of the abode.  It all started with some rather large branches that were bent to form a dome.  Then, small but long twigs were woven into a thatched roof.  The sides were filled in with yet other branches.  Two doors were left.  One to be used as the main entrance and the other (a hidden door) as an escape route.  Now that the nest was sturdy  and enclosed, she gathered leaves to line the inner walls.  Each single leaf is tucked into place until the entire inner chamber is covered.  This step is much like shingling a roof but she does the entire inside of her nest. The last step is to be completed tomorrow as she will gather soft grasses to make a bed.  Here, she will give birth to her young and nurse them until they are strong enough to venture out of the nest.  For twelve weeks after giving birth, she will take total responsibility for raising her little family.

  The female squirrel does it all.  She builds the nest and cares for the young.  She, also, gathers and stores nuts, seeds and fruits to tide the little family over during the winter months.  The male...does nothing.  He will even go so far as to steal her stash of winter supplies if she is not careful.  As I watched the little pregnant squirrel build her nest, I gained a new appreciation for her.  She is one hard-working little mama unlike that deadbeat dad.  I guess I had better put out an extra helping of sunflower seeds for her enjoyment.  She deserves it.  She was working hard to get her chores done and she has a pretty important deadline looming ahead of her!

Preparing for Cooler Weather!

  This morning, we had our first hint of fall.  At sunrise, a slight north wind gave the idea that perhaps the weather would be cooler this week. Any cool front is welcome but this one more than others.  With this cool front making its way to the Coast, all three hurricanes may just be steered in a different direction. Now if we could just get a full blown cold front to blow them all out to sea, things would be nigh on perfect. Besides, I am ready for fall. With fall comes the Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou and Halloween!

  While pondering the approach of cooler weather, a racket over my head made me peer upwards.  Whack!  A small branch fell from an oak tree and hit my shoulder.  That type of "fall" I do not like! Then I heard a hasty chattering of a squirrel in the top of a nearby tree.  Aha!  The culprit!  The next twenty minutes were spent watching this little squirrel as she built a huge nest.  This, in itself, is a sure sign of fall.  Squirrels all over the hillside are in the nest building mode.  The springtime nests that housed mama and baby squirrels will be abandoned and new ones built.  These new homes will be lined a bit heavier and will seem a bit bulkier than the spring ones.  While a good many squirrels will use hollow trees or abandoned woodpecker holes for wintertime nests, others will stick with their leafy abodes.  Our winters are never too severe so the squirrels will be snug in their leaf nests. 

  The nest starts as a few twigs placed in the crotch or fork of tree branches.  The twigs are woven to create a platform then other twigs are placed to build a dome shape over the platform.  Usually, oak branches are used as the leaves are durable.  The nest will have two "doors" for easy escape in case a predator attacks.  The inner portion is lined with soft leaves, moss and grasses.  In fact, by the time the squirrel is satisfied with its home, the nest will be pretty much sealed against the weather.  Once inside, the squirrel will stay warm and dry.

  Watching this little critter create its home gave me hope that we will actually "have" winter this year.  Last year, was unbelievably warm.  I need cold!  I need winter!  Oh, I need FALL FIRST! 

To Wait...or Not??

  A lot of the times, we are told to "seize the moment".  It is wise to make haste and tackle whatever is thrown at us.  It makes sense.  To procrastinate means that opportunities could be lost or problems could worsen.  That said, sometimes just the opposite is deemed more sensible.  Wait.  Be calm and await the outcome of a situation.  There is no need to rush headlong into things.  So...it is your choice.  While both tidbits of advice seem logical, you can only do one or the other.  Not both.  

  This afternoon's hike led me down to the back corner of the property.  It was near where the Bayou turns into a creek that runs far back into the woods.  Here all was quiet save for the deer flies smacking my head and mosquitoes buzzing in my ear.  This afternoon, it felt far too quiet to be "normal".  Something was afoot.  Perhaps some unseen predator lurked just out of my vision and silenced all smaller critters.  Nary a bird sang nor did a squirrel chatter.  Even the frogs were mute!  This quietness stopped me in my tracks and caused me to search out any larger critter hidden beyond the brush.  Nothing.  Several birds were sitting still in the treetops and one squirrel hunkered down just above my head but nothing else could be seen.  All the rambunctiousness of the critters had come to a halt while they waited for the threat to pass. Whatever that threat was, it seemed as if the waiting game was the chosen tactic for avoiding it.  I decided it was in my best interest to ease back out of the woods and head for the Little Bayou House.  While I was not frightened, I have to admit that there was something foreboding about the place today.  

  Then there was a need to NOT wait.  Back at the Little Bayou House, something required immediate action!  I had not noticed before but, as I watched the swifts exiting the top of the chimney, a flash of green caught my eye.  Duh!  That seems to be a stupid place to plant a tree! Obviously, a squirrel had stowed acorns up under the chimney cap and with all of the recent rains, one sprouted.  A sapling was now growing in my fireplace!  While this needs attention, I am not going to shimmy up that chimney to remove a sapling!  Son can get up there to yank the dumb thing from its sprouting spot.  Tomorrow will find him taking the bull by the horns or at least the sapling by the stalk!  Some things can wait...this cannot.  

That Little Thief!

  Just when I think things are under control, a new wrinkle gets tossed in the laundry...or garden, in this case.  This spring, the weather has been ideal for growing.  Plants are flourishing and the garden is producing enough that I do not have to go grocery shopping.  Actually, it is producing enough that I can preserve a good bit for this winter.   I am pleased.  With all the effort spent putting in and caring for the garden, it is nice to see some return.  It is not nice, however, to see how the garden is being raided by those not willing to lend a hand.

  About three days ago, I noticed a squirrel dart up the oak tree right next to the house.  That critter had something rosy red in its clutches.  My first thought was that the squirrel had raided the peach tree and made off with one of my lovely peaches.  Not so.  He had one of my lovely tomatoes instead!  I figured that one tomato would not hurt that much so I did nothing to deter the critter.  Now I find that perhaps I should have "had words" with this fine fellow.  He has taken a notion that it is all fine and dandy to raid the garden on a daily basis.  Still, this would not cause me worry except that the squirrel has decided that he should sample the goods before choosing his favorite.  A nice, plump tomato was laid on the ground next to the bush.  It was about one third eaten.  Four other tomatoes were scattered about the garden.  Obviously, the squirrel could not make up his mind which tasted the best. I was a tad miffed. to say the least.

  I am quite sure that I have not seen the last of Mr. Squirrel so now the tomatoes are picked twice a day.  None are left to tempt the squirrel.  Maybe he will get the message that he is not welcome in the garden and he should stick with pillaging the bird feeders.  I did notice that he is getting quite fat so perhaps karma will catch up with him.  There is a huge hawk scanning the area so Mr. Squirrel might just become dinner for some little ones.  Stay out of my garden!

Up to no good!

  I took advantage of the sunshine today since it has been days...weeks?...since we have had any such days.  I needed to paint a clothes rack and was not about to use spray paint indoors!  While outside, I kept hearing a squirrel fussing at me.  This rascal was not happy that I was at the base of the oak tree where he was more or less stranded.  He wanted me gone...and now!  Since I seemed to be paying more attention to the squirrel than what I was supposed to be doing anyway, I went a step further in aggravating the little noise-maker.  I leaned against "HIS" tree!  Geez, you would have thought that I had ruined all of nature by that act!  The squirrel went berserk!  He raced back and forth among the limbs and literally shrieked at me!  Goofy thing!

  While I was pestering the squirrel (instead of painting!), I noticed a small bit of green near the bottom of the trunk.  Well, that is not a good place for a branch to grow, I thought.  Turns out, it was not a branch at all but a small tree!  An acorn had become lodged in a furrow in the bark and had sprouted.  Whether this lodging was done by the acorn falling or was the act of the nefarious squirrel and his up-to-no-good self is yet to be understood!

  The tiny tree growing in the groove of the bark on a large tree surely would not be a healthy thing for either tree.  I twisted and turned the little sapling to see if it could be removed intact.  Surprisingly, it did let loose and I was able to plant the little guy in a pot.  There, it shall remain until I find a more suitable place for it to call home.  Oh...and the squirrel?  In all its frenzy to get out of the tree, it must have exhausted itself.  When I left to plant the tiny tree, the squirrel settled down for a nap!

Grass vs Wood or "Who mulched my lawn?"

  Yesterday's post found me bewailing the fact that algae is taking over the Bayou.  I was placing most of the blame on neighbors who insist on dousing their lawns with chemical fertilizers.  While I suspect this is helping the algae flourish, I may be jumping the gun on accusing anyone and for that I apologize.  Perhaps it is just a prolific year for algae!  Still, the fact that I have a green and slimy Bayou makes me bit sad.  That type of bayou does not belong here!  Maybe it has a place in some zombie movie but not in real life.  All I can do is hope and pray that it does not get too bad.

  Today, however, I am seeing a different lawn in my yard compared to that across the Bayou.  My neighbors have lovely green grass.  I have wood!  I guess you can call it wood, more like mulch.  No, I did not mulch the entire yard but the squirrels are well on their way of doing it for me. Pine cone petals are being layered almost an inch thick under most of the trees.  Maybe because of the lack of food elsewhere, but the squirrels are attacking the pine trees with a unheard of vengeance!  This would not be unusual if it were late November through mid February but in August? The pine cones are still green!  The seeds held within cannot be fully matured so just what are those varmints thinking?   I know that squirrels do not "think" ahead too very often but if it were up to me, I think I would let those seeds develop a tad more.  The larger the seeds, the quicker my belly would fill!  But like I said, squirrels are not known to use a lot of logic.  They are hungry so they scrounge whatever they find.  My pine cones fit the bill just fine.  Come this winter, though, it will be a different story and these same rodents will be begging for a handout at my birdfeeders.

  The question at hand now, however, is what to do with the thick layer of prickly pine cone petals.  The petals wreak havoc on bare feet!  My habit of trotting about the hillside barefooted during the summer months has had to come to a halt for the duration of the munching of pine cones.  The leather moccasins that I wear the rest of the year do not even provide much protection.  The sharp points can cut right through the thin leather. I suppose my hikes will have to be routed around the piles of petals and pine cones for now. Squirrels...I may just not feed you greedy things this winter so you had better be storing a good bit of your seeds!  Hmmmmph! Now I need to figure out how to make a squirrel-proof birdfeeder.  Silly squirrels!

Wait, Ms. Ez, wait!

  I most likely have done horribly wrong by Ms. Ez, the old Bayou dog.  Ever since she was a wee pup, I would use the single word "Wait" as a command.  She learned patience....lots of patience.  I made her wait until I was down the steps before exiting the house.  I made her wait until I led before getting on the pier.  I made her wait until squirrels were nigh underfoot before she chased them.  I made her wait...a lot.  It is that last one that seems to have struck a chord with her. She still occasionally barrels out of the house or on the pier before me but she can out wait a squirrel by far.  Her patience is amazing when it comes to trying to snag one of those wily critters.  She has a perfect vantage point as she watches them try to raid the bird feeders.  The steps are just high enough to allow her to see over the gate and the jasmine vine is just full enough to conceal her whereabouts.  Once a squirrel is spied hopping up the board path, she quietly slips off the steps and stands just behind the opened gate.  From there, she eyes the squirrel as it comes closer and closer.  Once she figures that the critter is in the position of difficult escape, she makes her move.  She lunges out of the gate and down the board path.  The squirrel will invariably be startled enough that it darts to the first thing available that resembles a tree.  Sometimes this "tree" is the driftwood post that holds the feeders.  If that is chosen, Ms. Ez is in Heaven!  The squirrel is trapped and she bides her time.  After a bit, the squirrel will dart down the side and make a dash for it.  Ms. Ez will be hot on its tail all the way to the first tree in sight.

  There are several trees in the yard that stand far enough from others to make the squirrel be "treed".  Ms. Ez then plops herself down at the base of the tree and waits.  She sits and stares at the squirrel sometimes for hours on end.  The poor squirrel is in a frenzy to escape but all exits are blocked by this big lug of a dog! Finally, the squirrel will panic and race down the tree trunk.  The chase begins again.

  Ms. Ez never really attempts to catch the squirrel and both animals obviously think this is some grand game.  Neither seem to tire of the fun.  About dark, I have to call Ms. Ez to come inside and let the squirrel head back to its nest for the evening.  I believe she would sit there all night if I let her!  Wait, Ez, wait!

Everything is just "Rosy"....or There is a Thief Among Us!

  This afternoon I was chased inside by another round of rain. It seems as if this is one of the wettest winters that I can remember for quite some time.  My outdoor chores were put on hold for another day.  Not having much else to do, I made a cup of tea and stared out the window.  I was planning my next garden adventure when I spied the slightest movement in the rose vines on the east arbor.  Hmm?  I wonder what critter was braving the rains to play in the vines.  Could Mama Dove already be making her nest?    Rain or not, I just had to slip outside to investigate.

  Mama Dove was not the critter stirring about on top of the arbor.  A squirrel chattered noisily at me as soon as I stepped out the door.  I think it was trying to scare me away from the arbor!  It kept this up until it saw Ms. Ez bound out behind me. That old dog loves to chase squirrels and that squirrel knew it had better keep its distance.  It bolted down the arbor and out into the yard.  Ms. Ez tore out of the rose garden right behind it. The chase continued until the squirrel made its way to the large oak tree and then it took a "dare-you" stance just out of the dog's reach.  It barked at her all the while the dog leapt in the air trying to catch that wispy tail!  At least the old dog does this well.  Now back to investigating what the squirrel was doing on the arbor.  It did not take long to realize that this rascal was raiding the arbor of all my rose hips!  Just this past week, I noticed about two hundred rose hips were ripening well and needed picking.  I should not have procrastinated!  That little rascal evidently has been quite busy!  A lone rose hip remained on the vine!

  My harvesting of the hips was limited to a mere handful that I had picked last week.  I was going to need the ladder to reach the remainder of the hips and that was being used by Michael while he builds the greenhouse. I had good intentions of coming back to the arbor but got sidetracked cleaning the gardens.  That rascally squirrel was even using the fence post as a dining table while it gnawed my rose hips!

  Rose hips are pretty remarkable and are often overlooked.  They contain Vitamin C, D, A and E which makes them a great addition to herbal tea. They also have anti-inflammatory properties which help with joint pain and arthritis.  I try to harvest them to use in my teas but this year, I was in hopes to have enough to use in jelly making.  Their tartness blended with the Boysenberry juice should be very flavorful!  Now since the critters have taken a liking to my rose hips, Ms. Ez will have a new job.  She needs to stand guard under the arbor and protect my roses....errr...rose hips!

Wishing for Winter...

Just the other day, I was reading where the Farmers' Almanac predicted a cold, wet winter ahead of us.  This, in itself, does not bother me as I like winter.  It is my favorite of all seasons even with the cold and all its trappings.  Of course, that said, I have to concede to my neighbors to the north that have truly cold winters..we do not.  I find myself longing for a good freeze with a hefty bit of sleet or snow!  The most we get here is a few cold days and at best snow flurries.  The humidity here does make our "cold" chill you to the bone but ours is not a true winter in comparison to most.  But..according to the Almanac..it is supposed to be quite frigid about the country.

All of this made me ponder today as I came across evidence that the squirrels have been rather busy. I knew they were making short work of the sunflower seeds and corn that I put out in the bird feeders but never realized the extent of their scavenging.  Every pine tree in the yard is now devoid of cones.  The squirrels have chewed their way to the small seeds inside.  Nary a pine nut has escaped their munching!  Since they have devoured all of the cones near the house, they have moved to the outer edges of the yard.  One pine tree actually sits out in the marsh and sometimes has its roots submerged in the brackish water.  This has not stopped the squirrels from raiding the tree during low tide.  The pier is littered with the petals of the cones.  I have noticed that the females are storing seeds and nuts but the males go right behind and raid their cache.  Those rascals are far too lazy to put away a few nuts for themselves!  Now I am a bit concerned that the critters won't have much to eat come this winter.

So, if the Almanac is correct..(and it usually is)..we are in for a cold winter. It will be time to don the jackets, chop firewood and drink cocoa!  Since those silly squirrels are eating everything in sight now,  I suppose it will also be time to put out more corn and seeds for the critters than I normally do.  Between the coons and squirrels, the birds will not stand a chance at the feeders!  Ms. Ezzy, the old Bayou Dog, had better perk up a bit and do her job! That cozy bed seems to demand a lot more of her attention nowadays and during a cold winter, she might just refuse to chase any pesky squirrels!  Ahh..a cold winter sounds pretty good right now with the temperatures still in the mid-nineties during the daytime hours!  Think cool..think cool!

"Always be Prepared!"

Once again, I am rushing the seasons.  I am so ready for some fall-like weather that I am already thinking of Halloween and Thanksgiving!  Whoa...a bit too early according to the calendar!  I blame it all on that old "be prepared" rule that we were taught while kids.  "You should always prepare ahead of time.  You never know when something might come up during the last minute that could change your plans and make it difficult to do something."  This was usually directed to us as kids when we were supposed to be doing our homework for school! Well, I want fall to come so I think I will prepare!  I was telling Michael just today that I wanted to get my decorations out of the upstairs closet.  He looked at me a bit strangely so I had to make up an excuse of sorting the decorations.  "I might get rid of some of them", I told him.  Ha!  That is highly unlikely!  Me?  Toss decorations?  That is crazy talk!  So tomorrow, he has agreed to pull out the many boxes of fall and Halloween decorations for me!  Whee!!!

Speaking of fall, I am not the only one with the thought that summer should be over!  I went out to stroll about the gardens late this evening and could hear several squirrels barking.  For some reason, squirrels sound different during the fall.  Maybe it is just wishful thinking, but I think they are calling for a season change as well! I can remember "back in the day" picking up pecans and hearing the squirrels fuss at us to stay out of their orchard.  Even then, I thought their barks were of a different tone than earlier in the year.  I did notice that, although there is plenty of ready food, the squirrels are chewing the pine cones a bit earlier this year.  When I passed by a bench in the garden, I found a telltale pile of pine cone petals.  Perhaps the squirrel is "squirreling away" the pine nuts for later use but he sure is making a mess of my bench!

The young squirrel eyed me with a bit of frustration as I cleared the bench and tossed his supply of cones down the hill.  Tomorrow, I am quite sure he will have toted them all back to "his" workbench but I won't see them..I will be playing in the decorations!  Come on, Fall!  Mr. Squirrel and I are so ready for you!  We are getting prepared!

Who has been eating my...gate?

At the crack of dawn, I was out painting the three garden gates.  Michael made the gates last year but, for one reason or another, I am just now getting around to painting them.  It did not bother me much since the wood used for the gates was stuff that floated up in a hurricane.  I figured that if the boards had floated around in salt water for a good twenty-four or more hours, a little rainwater could not possibly do any more damage.  Not all of the wood is from just planks.  He used parts of doors, floors, cabinets and even a bedframe!  Each gate is different..very different!  But I like them and since he made them for me, no one had better say a negative thing about them!  Anyway, this morning was painting time!  I decided on red!  Yup..red!

The first gate was easy to paint as it was more flat and did not have a multitude of doodads attached to it.  I made quick work of that one!  The second was a bit more challenging.  This is the one made from an old bedframe.  Michael included the upper part that had a bunch of spindles.  The wrath of the hurricane had broken the leg of the bed which rendered it unusable so..it is now a gate!  I did not mind the extra time it took to paint this gate as it overlooked the bird feeders!  I was entertained to the fullest!  Then came the final gate.  I started at the top and was planning on working my way down from there.  Swash...the paint went smoothly across the top board until..I hit a strange hole!  Hmmm?  This looked mightily like a big bite mark.  Something has been eating my gate!  I could fully  understand this if it had been at the bottom and something was trying to get inside the garden but this gnawed place was at the very top of the gate!  If some critter was trying to get into the garden, since it was already on top of the gate, why did it not just go right on inside?  The bite mark confused me.  Just about then, Michael came into the garden.  I showed him the gnawed place on the gate.  Hmmm?  Yup..same response as mine!  Then we took a closer look.

The gate itself had started to sag a bit as gates have a tendency to do with the wear and tear of age.  The hinges held fast but the boards were starting to pull apart a bit.  This created a nice size crack between the boards.  Deep in the crevice between the boards was an odd assortment of acorns!  A squirrel had obviously used my garden gate as a silo!  Now it was trying to gnaw a doorway so it could get the stored nuts!  Silly squirrel!  How in the world did it find time to do this?  Ms. Ez usually keeps those squirrels on the move!  I suppose that I am going to have to remove the acorns soon since that hungry squirrel will make short work of my gate!  Silly squirrel!  At least, the gates are red, now!!!

The Waiting Game..

Ms. Ezzy loves to chase squirrels.  She will sit for hours just waiting for a squirrel to attempt a birdfeeder raid.  Then she races lickety-split out the gate and down the hill.  The squirrel always makes it to the safety of a tree but not without Ez being right on its tail. This game goes on for the entire day until I call her in for the night.

Today, Ms. Ez treed two squirrels in the same hickory tree. This was good news for her!  There are two trees in the yard that do not give the squirrels access to an easy escape.  These trees are far from any other trees.  This hickory tree is one of those two!  To leave the tree, the squirrels are required to come back down the trunk and race across the yard.  She has learned that if she waits long enough, the game will continue as the squirrels will eventually try to escape the tree.   The old Bayou Dog will sit for hours just listening.  She can hear the scritching of the squirrels' claws on the bark of the tree as they move.  If the noise gets close..she gets excited.  Once she realizes the squirrels are near, she bounds around and around the tree trying to get at them!  The wily squirrels dart back up the tree to wait for her to be distracted.  The two squirrels that were treed today were in for a long wait.  Ms. Ez sat and sat. She even sat through a rain shower!  The dog was determined that the squirrels would not leave that tree!

I do believe that this is a game not only fun for Ms. Ez but also for the squirrels.  It seems that they love to torment the dog and in turn be chased by her.  It is all about who has more patience.  Obviously, Ms. Ez won the round today.  No, she did not catch the squirrels in the hickory tree but she out-waited them.  Darkness fell before she gave up the game.  Tonight, there are two squirrels that did not make it back to their cozy nests before bedtime!

Foiled Again!

Sometimes just when you think you are ahead of the game, something trips you up and you fall back a bit.  That is what happened early this morning.  I was headed to the kitchen around six this morning to make a pot of coffee when I heard it.  Crunk, crunk, crunk.  Not again!  This has to be a dream!  That's it, I am still sleeping.  I turned on the water...nope..it felt cold so not dream.  Drats!  That darn squirrel was back!  Michael and I literally removed the entire outer closet so the rascal would not have a place to gnaw.  Crunk, crunk, crunk...it was gnawing.    MICHAEL!!!  I am not too sure he was overly happy about being dragged out of bed at such an early hour.  He had been up on the rooftop all day yesterday replacing some rotted boards and I can imagined was still a bit tired.  MICHAEL!!!  Crunk, crunk, crunk!  It seemed as if the squirrel did not even care that I was yelling my head off down in the kitchen.

Soon, Son came groggily into the kitchen and I handed him a cup of coffee.  "Here, I think you are going to need this!"  He grunted something that sounded a lot like "Dare pearls in adding."  Which I knew translated to "There's squirrels in the attic."  I was satisfied..he had heard them, too!  Once two cups of coffee were poured into him, he awoke enough to make a tad more sense.  It seems that the squirrels were gnawing right above him!  His bedroom is upstairs and anything that lands on the roof wakes him immediately.  Wakes him...not wakes him enough to get out of bed, though.  That is my job! (And I do it quite well!)  Anyway, he headed out on the rooftop to find the entrance hole.  It seems that the squirrel had ripped off a metal sheet of "flashing", gnawed through one inch thick trim boards and finally through a sheet of plywood.  That little rascal really wanted to be inside!

Michael shooed the squirrel out by banging with a hammer on the outside wall.  The squirrels (yes, there were two!) scooted out and across the rooftop.  From there, they leapt to an oak tree to make their escape.  Son patched the hole again and after about an hour, came inside for breakfast.  Crunk, crunk, crunk!  AACK!  The critters were back!  Michael dashed back outside and up the ladder.  Sure enough, his patch was pulled free from the house and the squirrels had darted back into the wall.  Oh, geez!  Banging began again, as Michael chased the squirrels out of their hiding spot.  Again, he patched the hole..and later, again, the squirrels pulled it free.  Four times...four times!..Michael patched the hole.  Four times..the squirrels gnawed through the patch.  Finally just at dark, they were on the rooftop once again but this time his patch held.....for now.  I am sure that the first thing come morning, I will hear the pitter-patter of little squirrel feet tripping across the rooftop.  Then..crunk, crunk, crunk!  MICHAEL!!!!

How to evict a squirrel in one easy step!

Well, we did it!  After more than a week of hearing a squirrel rummage around in a wall, Michael and I outsmarted the critter!  All during the past week, the squirrel proceeded to make a comfy nest in an outdoor "closet" space.  The weather did not permit us to do much about its presence other than bang on the interior wall.  This would quieten the squirrel for a few minutes but then the commotion would start again.  Since Hurricane Katrina, this space has been more or less neglected.  The hurricane had damaged it some so as a simple fix, it was merely blocked off and there was no easy access.  The squirrel, however, made its own door.  It had chewed a nice size hole in the eave of the roof.  To avoid being soaked by the icy rains of last week, Michael had just rushed out to poke a temporary patch over the hole.  Each day, the squirrel gnawed a new hole and each day, Michael applied a new patch.  This was beginning to get aggravating!  Today, though, the sun made an appearance!  Work was to be done..the squirrel had to be evicted!

Right after our morning coffee, Son and I headed out to tackle the job.  We had no idea what to expect.  To be truthful, I had forgotten just what all was in that space! Armed with a hammer and crowbar, Michael began to dismantle the closet.  One wall came down!  This was enough for us to groan with the sight!  Oh, my goodness!  How in the world was so much junk crammed in such a small space??? This closet was supposed to hold the gardening tools...ummm...yeah!  Right!  Well, we might as well just jump right in and get the job finished!  Item after item was gingerly extricated from the closet.  Then..we found evidence!  Aha!  I knew I heard gnawing!

That goofy critter had found an old garbage bag of Easter decorations from when the kids were tykes. Bag after bag of the old, plastic straw that at one time filled Easter baskets was chewed.  This was the squirrel's idea of a most perfect bedding material!  This was not MY idea of a fun cleanup.  Ewww!  Michael lifted the whole bag and tossed it out on the ground.  Ugh!  I poked the bag half expecting a rabid squirrel to come bounding out and up my pant leg.  I was definitely relieved to find that the bag contained no critters of any sort!  As matter of fact, we found no critter in the entire closet space!  After everything was emptied from the area, all we had managed to locate was the squirrel's nest.  The job was half finished..now, we had to sort through the mountain of clutter that was piled in the yard.  A quick decision to remove the entire closet from the outside wall of the house made it easier to toss about ninety percent of the junk.  That stuff was NOT coming back inside my house!  I did keep a few gardening tools which were found hanging far in the back of the closet.  Wow!  Imagine!  Actually, that was all that was supposed to be in there in the first place...gardening tools!  Not bags of Easter decorations..among the other million and one items of no apparent importance!  The place was clean!  Job well done!  The squirrel has been outsmarted....for now!  So..how do you remove a squirrel from a wall in one easy step?  You take down the wall around it!  Ugh!

Early Winter?

Sometimes I watch the critters on the Bayou to see if they react any differently to a change in the weather.    I have been told that most critters can predict upcoming weather changes about as accurately as the so-called expert meteorologists.  I watch things like the caterpillars, squirrels and birds.  All seem to have their own special ways of preparing for whatever is headed toward the Bayou area.  Caterpillars have a method of speeding up their transitional period of being in a cocoon.  If a cold spell is headed this way, I have seen seemingly immature caterpillars either bury themselves under mulch or in the ground or suddenly change forms.   The squirrels will stockpile acorns and seeds much heavier before storms or hard winters.  The local birds (those that do not migrate) also stockpile seeds.  Woodpeckers will hide seeds and acorns under lose tree bark and Blue Jays will hoard seeds in much the same manner.   All of the critters eat like crazy and create a nice layer of fat on their bodies.  This will help to keep them warm and also help them to survive when the food is scarce.

 This week, I noticed that the migratory birds have started arriving.  It is a mite early in the season compared to the past few years.  On the Bay, the Hooded Mergansers have started filtering in pair by pair.  Those and a few Ring-necked Ducks were huddled against the wind late yesterday evening.  They will be joined by the daily arrival of many more ducks of all sorts until the Bayou area is filled.   Then the Canadian Geese that are not permanent residents will flock into the area.  They will all head to my cousin, Michelle's place for their meals.  She sets out a fine buffet of corn to attract the hundreds of water fowl that need a decent meal.  Each year, the number of her visitors increases until her yard is dotted from end to end.  AND...she welcomes them all.

If these ducks are indicating what I think they are, we are in for an early and bit more severe winter this year.  I am thinking that perhaps our woodpile might not be sufficient to last the entire time.  Last year as with the previous few years, the winters have been mild..almost too warm.  The gut-feeling is for this one to be harsh.  We shall see...but in the meantime, I think some good old-fashioned wood-cutting is in the near future!