Marauders

Blog 10 …

      Getting emotionally involved with squirrels in my neck of the woods might seem outrageously foolish to folks who have better things to do than mind any of them.  After all, they perhaps only do what is natural to them … hunt and gather for their sustenance and survival.  Even so, I can’t help it.  With spare time in my hands, witnessing, observing and spotting the mischief they do around my yard are just as tremendously entertaining and irritating.

      I am especially annoyed when the furry, bushy-tailed scoundrels intentionally raid the grain feeders my hubby Mike installed for my bird-watching amusement. The rascals, in packs of three or four, more sometimes, climb up the very tree where the birds hang out, and insist on going down the limb where the feeders are.  They don’t just steal a handful of grain and go away, they claim the feeders to themselves, hanging on them like untamed acrobats, and eat like forever hungry little boars!  When I see them contentedly devouring the seeds intended for my winged friends, I am driven to rush outside yelling, as if they could understand my most angry reprimand.  Mike and I even sought our shih-tzus Cinnamon and Dinky’s help in a scare conspiracy.   We taught Dink and Cinn to seek, to scare and to run after them.  We took great pleasure in terrifying them away, but victory never seems to last long.  The rascals mockingly return right back, and the whole insane cycle unbelievably starts over.

      In saner moments, I reflect on my self-inflicted vendetta and irascibility toward the squirrels.  I realize they are also a part of nature and not inherently worse than my preferred creatures of the wild; the fact remains though that they are more often than not, a nuisance to my bird friends, and an interruption to my quiet, sweet pleasure.  There’s no telling when I might make peace with the furry marauders in my yard, but I hope they give me a reason to like them just a bit!