Antics row
Friday May 14th 2010, 11:22 pm
Filed under: Wildlife

This started out as trying to keep them away from my birdfeeder. But it became its own reward.

I sawed through a loaf of hard-as-a-rock whole wheat/multigrain/multiseed Costco bread this morning–so healthy I for one can’t eat it and one certainly couldn’t in time in the quantities they sell it in–and I put it out by the trees with some old almond butter spread on.  The almond butter, being past its expiry date but having been kept in the fridge, was still good but had more value as entertainment factor by now, I figured, since the peanut butter purists here weren’t eating it.

Then I watched to see what would happen.

One little black squirrel discovered it right away and was in total heaven. He ran up a tree to savor a big piece alone, and then from up there munching away, clearly decided he didn’t want that bossy big gray male who was always giving him what-for to know where the loot was before it could be stashed away.

That gray got a whiff, though.  He smelled it.  He left the porch he likes to dominate, the birdfeeder territory, and started looking for it.  Where was it?  He’d been so busy he’d missed out.  He actually licked the tree trunk where the black squirrel had first stopped to eat, then sniffed some more, frantically looking for any trace of almond.

Then he spotted the little guy just finishing his bite. YOU! Over there!  GIMME THAT! He went chasing, bounding from treetop to treetop, both of them doing daredevil leaps that had me holding my breath.  Run for it!  Over and over, around and around, back down to the ground now–and every time they got too close to where the rest of those pieces of bread were, the black one did the most masterful job of using the gray’s bossy instincts to divert him and led him along in his pell-mell chase away from the stash.  Every time the gray got too close.  Every time.  The black one would risk getting caught–almost–so that the stash wouldn’t be.  Neener neener, can’t catch me!

The race was to the young and finally the bigger and older gray gave up.  Never did get any. It was funny as all get-out to watch the little young one outfox him and then see it sneak back and squirrel away the rest.

I decided to take pity awhile later and put out some more pieces of that bread, but too lazy to mix more of the separated almond and oil back together.  I put the plain tidbits out again at the base of that same tree–and this time the big gray found it.

And that little turkey turned to me, back inside behind the window, with a look that could only be described as You have GOT to be kidding me!!! No *almond*?!!

And the cheeky little thing turned its nose up like a cat at dinnertime.

He did come back later and grabbed one when he thought I wasn’t looking.

You know which one’s getting seconds tomorrow. And you know what’s going to be on it. Let the Wild Rumpus Begin Again!


5 Comments so far
Leave a comment

LOL – reminds me of a friend’s pooches. When both were happily chewing away on new bones, the tiny shitzu would suddenly drop hers and run to the front door barking. The Springer, not to be outdone in guarding the house, would dash right after and bark and bark and bark. Meanwhile, the little one would sneak back, hide the spaniel’s bone under the rug and then lie down on it and chew away on her own bone. The Springer never caught on.

Comment by twinsetellen 05.15.10 @ 5:28 am

love it! sounds like the antics of the dogs when my daughter is visiting — 3 dogs — a large lab, a medium size husky mix and a cairn terrier — and guess who rules the roost — (oh yes, and they should have named her Tommie — the way she bounces off things like the pin ball wizard!!)

Comment by Bev 05.15.10 @ 7:04 am

I can’t come anywhere near that one. Sounds hilarious! That would make a great movie comedy.

Fun –

A man was exhausted after driving all night. So he pulled over to the side of the road for a quick snooze. He had just started to doze off, when there was a knock on the car window. He opened his eyes to a jogger, who asked, “Pardon me, but do you have the time?” “It’s 8:10.” He had just closed his eyes again, and was nearly asleep, when there was another knock on his window. This time a hiker asked, “Excuse me, but do you have the time?” Scowling, he glanced at his watch, and snapped, “It’s 8:15.” Fed up, he put a sign in the window that read, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!” This time he had actually fallen asleep, when there was a rap on his window. Grumpy, he rolled down the window, and demanded, “What,” to the boy scout standing there. “Sir, it’s 8:30.”

Comment by Don Meyer 05.15.10 @ 9:51 am

Too funny!

Comment by robinm 05.15.10 @ 2:22 pm

Your own nature channel, live and in person – er, squirrel…

Comment by Channon 05.16.10 @ 6:19 am



Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

(required)

(required)