Squirrel Tale

Despite my love/hate relationship with squirrels I really do like them. That probably doesn’t make much sense, plus hate is not exactly the right word. I don’t mind feeding them. My frustration is they eat everything in sight and leave nothing or very little for the birds, or even other squirrels. Once they park themselves on a feeder, or perch on a limb near a feeder, even inside a dish, they hang out until the food is gone • Normally I leave them alone because I expect them to eat but when I notice they’ve been munching in one place for too long, I open the door, sometimes a window, to scatter them hither and yon. Yes, there’s always more than one :) • They get used to my lazy threat as they often disappear behind the car or around the corner of the house just out of sight, and then hop back from whence they came when they hear the door or window close • Cheeky Critters • Most times I have to exert extra effort by stepping outside and actually walking behind them to keep them moving forward, further away, knowing they’ll eventually return. It usually buys enough time for the birds to visit • Sadly, squirrels are hunted in Maine. Year around for reds, and September through December for grays. I’m guessing other states allow it too but it seems unfathomable to me • Who eats squirrel, anyway? I wish I could say I’ve never had it, but I have. Thankfully I was so young when it happened I have no memory of what it looked or tasted like. At three years old I only remember someone giving it to my father, we lived in Arkansas at the time. My mother fried it but refused to eat it, and I’m sure I ate it because my father did. I doubt I even knew what a squirrel was. I still feel guilty about it, probably because I don’t eat meat, it’s been 33 years • The moral of today’s Squirrel Tale: be kind to squirrels :)