when i was exploring
Zion National Park (p.s. AMAZING!!!) i remember seeing hoards of tourists taking photos of squirrels. on the outside i guess they appear to be cute, furry creatures, probably making a nice stuffed animal for a child.
but it doesn't take much observation to see that they are really a backyard pest? he is probably chewing on a nut from YOUR PANTRY in this picture! they are the ones responsible for your bulbs NOT coming up in the spring. they eat birdseed right out of your "squirrel proof" feeders before your birds can get to it. they rummage through the garbage. their poop looks like rat poop. i know because they deposit it on my back porch railing where i catch them having their afternoon snack almost every day. probably right after they have buried something in my flower pot or dug up another precious seedling. seriously!
their obsession with my deck began this winter, when my planter had a mix of greens frozen in the soil. there was still a bit of snow on the greens when i realized deep in the branches was a mysteriously half-eaten bagel. i thought perhaps one of our tenants had set the bagel down while opening up the door, then forgot their breakfast and it fell into the greens. but then it was a slice of mostly eaten pizza, yup, right in my planter. once the soil had thawed, and i planted some spring flowers and herbs, the pesky rodents decided to "help". but it was the kind of help we all could do without; digging holes AFTER the plants had been planted.
meanwhile in the garden, we were replanting some lettuce and chard seeds for the FOURTH time! can't blame the squirrels for that, we had the
misfortune of planting seeds perfectly timed with a subsequent heavy rain or hail storm. even though chard is much better planted directly in the ground, i decided to start some seeds at home so i could make sure they got out of the ground, then plant them in the garden. they came up nice and strong, but the very first day i set them out to get some real light and slight breeze, the squirrels tore every one of the jiffy peat pots apart, hurling my precious seedlings onto the pathway below to their almost certain death.
fortunately, we discovered them before the bits of soil hanging onto those tiny roots were
completely dried out and we gingerly pieced them together. my children's ears were spared (since i had lost my voice) the cursing i was spewing in my head, but i was furious! its one thing if you EAT my goods, but just tearing them apart and leaving them!!!??? wretched creatures!
that is, so far, the climax of my angst for those animals.
but, just this morning, the girl and i spotted one out the window and watched it eat a granola bar with the wrapper still on - then leave me a little pile of poop before leaving my deck. i am pretty sure i heard the girl growl at him.
and then, while eating dinner outside this evening, we noticed that one had chomped off the tip of our beautiful
Malabar spinach vine that (unfortunately for the dear vine) had just reach the ledge around the house that the squirrels like to travel.
it used to bother me that zoom saw his daddy shoot and kill squirrels in our back yard, but now i am so proud when i hear, "it's a squirrel daddy! shoot it!"
it is hard to believe that three years have gone by since my baby was born. we had no idea what we were getting into, nor could we imagine what a treasure we were welcoming into our family. thankfully the ridiculously sleepless nights are but a memory, now we just hear him debriefing the day from his bed. sometimes it is a couple hours of non-stop chatter, but at least he eventually goes to sleep and LOVES to sleep! and gone are the days of seemingly endless naps - he is on full force from the moment he wakes up. it is amazing to already see such beautiful things in this boy!
i don't know if he really does understand the significance, but this morning he asked if he could kiss my belly. mmmmmmaaaahhhh! before heading out to work with his new chainsaw.