What the Squirrel Left Behind by olivetreeann

What the Squirrel Left Behind

Many of us here on 365 are entertained by the antics of squirrels. There also quite a few of us who end up pulling our hair out over their persistence in raiding our bird feeders! My dad was well-known for his battles with the squirrels. The squirrels generally won, but not without dad getting a good laugh or two when he got them- with buckets of water! (It's a long story!!!) Apparently his eldest daughter (that would be me) has inherited his spunk when it comes to these crafty little critters. But we live in the woods- and of course there's more squirrels here than I care to fight. So if you can't beat them, join them. I put a little seed on the ground each day so they don't have to raid the feeder. I also have a feeder that keeps them at bay most of the time, but every once in a while, a youngster will dare to climb the pole and eat the spoils. That's when I resort to one fail proof method. I grease the pole with Vaseline and watch with great pleasure as the squirrels leaps on to the pole and slide right down to the ground!! They don't like the smell of the stuff either, so it's quite comical to watch them try to get it out of their hair! However, the other day, I noticed a curious sight. This has never happened before, but apparently some over zealous squirrel was not only deprived from a meal of sunflower seeds, he also lost a little of his tail in the process!
Ha ha! Victory is sweet!

Thanks to everyone who took a wild guess as to what this was yesterday. As you can see, it's pretty wild! My hands down favorite was Adrian Greenhalgh's ( @zshadowwalker ) "Obliterated Scarecrow" guess. You had me laughing pretty hard on that one Adrian!
Cool catch
March 15th, 2012  
Well that might explain the squirrel I saw with half a tail. LOL great one!
March 15th, 2012  
Very cool!
March 15th, 2012  
@kerristephens Thank you Kerri!
@httpgeffed Thanks Colleen! It is funny, isn't it!
@kimmistephens Thank you Kimmi!
March 15th, 2012  
Clever girl!! I've learned to enjoy their antics . . so usually just sit back and enjoy the fun. They're very clever! And you got a great photo.
March 15th, 2012  
schucks! that was going to be my next guess. hahahaha! NOT! very clever, ann. you had us all scratching our heads.
March 15th, 2012  
@karenann This was a first! I just had to shoot it as bizarre as it looked. Glad I did too, because it was gone today.
@summerfield haha Vikki! I knew if anybody would know what it is, it would be you.
March 15th, 2012  
I had so much fun reading your story while sitting in the train on my way to the office;)
March 15th, 2012  
I was right though. I said hair. We don't have squirrels but there are possums about
March 15th, 2012  
haha... that is a fun story.. =) .. and a nice photo..
March 15th, 2012  
That was definitely a tough one.
March 15th, 2012  
Hahaha. Cool idea. I can imagine the squirrel sliding down the pole and looking amazed. Nice capture.
March 15th, 2012  
@woot Thanks Davide! My father's stories are even funnier, but they take longer to explain!
@peterdegraaff Yes- you and a couple others were on the right track Peter! Thanks for playing along.
@inertie Thanks Inertia!
@digitalrn Thanks Rick. That's why I told everyone to take a WILD guess. Who would think of this?
@sangwann Thanks Dione. It is a truly funny sight!
March 15th, 2012  
Finally after 10 years one of our squirrels was able to make it to our squirrel proof bird feeder. I caught him the other day actually flying up to the feeder! Enjoyed your story. PS I did manage to get a photo of him in the feeder but not flying to it....LOL! Seeya on April 1.
March 15th, 2012  
That was an interesting little puzzle. and thanks for the Mention it was a case of looking at the shapes and imagining what could leave them using the wild as a clue.
March 15th, 2012  
@cimes1 Thanks Carole! Enjoy your break!!
@zshadowwalker Thanks Adrian! That's what I was hoping everyone would do. It sort of made me chuckle- on such a creative website, everyone was trying to be logical about the guess instead of guessing some wild and outlandish. (o:
March 15th, 2012  
I have given up and now just feed the squirrels at the same time as I feed the birds lol
March 15th, 2012  
@melorac I do put seeds on the ground every morning for them and for the most part they stay on the ground. But every now and then, I get one fiesty little youngster who just has to climb the pole!
March 16th, 2012  
Bev
I bet he's telling the other squirrels to not go to your house! Nice catch! I would never have guessed what that was a picture of!! Love the story of the squirrels, too!
March 16th, 2012  
@prttblues Thanks Bev- saw another one sliding down today! There's a new batch of babies and they have to be "trained". (o: Very entertaining!
March 17th, 2012  
@sarasdadandmom It's this one Terry- I though you'd particularly enjoy the subject matter!
March 19th, 2012  
@olivetreeann Thanks , That was hilarious, good job, one for the good guys. LOL
March 19th, 2012  
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