Saturday, March 6, 2010

You Can Tell It Has Been A Bad Winter When...


Everyone has been writing about the cold and
snowy winter we have been having in so many of
the states and even across the pond.
The deers have been eating anything they can
munch on this winter that even looks a little green
or eatable .
Around here the birds have
been the ones to have something to eat on a regular
basis. The last three days even the squirrels have been
trying to get to the feeders and coming close to the
house in search of food.




Our country squirrels are not like their city slicker
cousins. Here they tend to shy away from getting near
the house or people. So when they tried for the first
time ever to get to the feeders I was cringing until I
saw they could not reach them yet. So they were left to
digging around beneath them to find some seeds the
birds had missed or scattered in the snow over the winter.




Here on the hill there is still plenty of snow cover
yet that has to melt so digging around for leftover
acorn's and hickory nuts is a little difficult.



I saw them grabbing up pieces of stale bread
that I had thrown out for the birds or stray cats.



But you have to know it has been a really bad
winter when you see them eating the frozen
chili soup that was left out for the cats,etc.
I had thrown it out and it of course was frozen
overnight. This little squirrel was eating it up like
it was the best thing it ever had. Chili Popsicle's
may become the new rage around here for the
critters. LOL!





I had never seen this happen before and felt
so sorry for the poor starving thing.
Then I noticed there were two other squirrels
sitting just off a short distance eating something.




Then I knew it was even worse than I thought...





You really know it has been a terrible winter when
the squirrels are gnawing on old bones!!!
I kid you not that this was even a bigger surprise.




This one took its bone and ran up the old oak
tree. There it set gnawing away on the bone.



My question to all of you is this...
Do you think I should lay out a roll of
Rolaid's or Tum's on the back step for the poor
things after eating my chili soup? LOL!!!








18 comments:

Tankar från Trädgårdsmästarn; Hillevi said...

Those poor starving darlings! Easy to forget about other than the birds this winter. And I heard that they alsom need water to drink...

Helen said...

They certainly are not shy about coming to our place. Guess they must be starving to eat what you have shown. Maybe you should put a roll of Tums out also. My chili would call for it LOL. Helen

Amy said...

I was laughing out loud reading your post. A little chili some bones...what next? Those are great photos!

Brenda Pruitt said...

Bones and chili soup? Now that's a new one on me. Strange critter behavior for sure!
Brenda

BernieH said...

Oh the poor things ... they must be absolutely starving! Hope that snow clears soon.

Unknown said...

Geez, I sure hope that poor squirrel doesn't have a sensitive stomach. Though beans aren't a far cry from nuts bones definately are.

pogonip said...

Spring can't come a moment too soon!

My dogs are having a fit chasing the scrub jays; I can't imagine the furor over squirrels in our yard.

Anonymous said...

Dear Lona, I do know only too well what a nuisance squirrels can be. In my own garden they attempt to dig up newly planted bulbs unless foiled with netting. However, your pictures are lovely, giving them the appearance of sweet little creatures.

Darla said...

You have some starving critters around your place...this is funny!

Lona said...

Hello Everyone! My son tells me he knew that squirrels would gnaw on bones to get the marrow from them but chili was a new one. LOL!
I always have water out for the birds so they will have plenty to drink but I refuse to make chili for them. LO!

Joe Todd said...

The sun is out and we have blue skies.... Outside with just a sweatshirt on ... You know what I mean.. I think we have turned the corner on winter. Another garden show come and gone

Stephanie said...

This cute little guy has such a nice tail :-D I hope winter will go away quickly and spring to come to bring more greens for these wild lives.

Lovely shots Lona ;-)

Pat said...

Fun post ...the squirrels are very entertaining !

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Poor little guys. I hope they don't catch onto the feeder thing, their city slicker cousins can become a real pain in that way. Maybe you should keep feeding them chili so they stay away from the feeders.

Roses and Lilacs said...

Out here on the farm, our squirrels are pretty simple and unsophisticated too. No fantastic acrobatics to reach the bird feeders. They seem mostly satisfied to pick up the seeds that the birds drop. I put out stale muffins and fruit for them and they seem to get along fine.
Marnie

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Oh, I laughed so hard at this post, Lona! Poor little squirrels. If your chili is as spicy as mine they will definitely need some Pepto. :))

Thanks for the chuckle.

Anonymous said...

How about a scattering of in-shell salt free peanuts, Lona? Poor things. Spring, come quickly!!!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

LOL, Lona,
When I read about a squirrel eating your chili, I thought it was chili peppers you had put out to keep them away, and it didn't work. I'm glad I came here to figure out what you were referring to. Your squirrels do look shyer than ours.