ThingsPondered

My partner and I made the decision to start feeding the backyard squirrels.  We have accidentally fed them birdseed for years, but now we are consciously choosing to feed them.  As this was an impulsive move, we are shooting from the hip so far.  

What is official squirrel food?  For the moment, it is whatever the local big box store says it is.  And that is dried ear corn.  This was not the best option; it was the only option.  Thus, until we do our feed research, in ear corn we trust.

We have a heated squirrel water bowl (really a birth bath) and a ceramic bowl for feed.  Into it, I excitedly placed three ears.  That was today, the third day of squirrel over-wintering parenthood.  Now, I am realizing that watching the little rodents happily chomping away on our deck may not be as easy as we imagined.

Pecking order.  Birds have it, literally.  Wolves have their hierarchy of power with the alphas, betas, and so forth.  Humans have it.   Then, it should not astonish anyone to acknowledge that squirrels have dominance ranking.  I observed it this morning as one precious-looking squirrel was at the bowl with the three newly poured corn cobs.  He (or she) was happily springing on an ear to extricate one kernel, then leaping back about a foot away to happily chew.  This was repeated several times until…

A more dominant squirrel appeared. Older, bigger, cannier, and wise in the ways of the squirrel world, this creature ambushed my cutie.  The ambush was just a “get out of here” maneuver, not infliction of bodily harm.  However, this dominant squirrel contrived to deprive me of my squirrel watching pleasure.  This meanie picked up a cob in his mouth and scampered away with it!

Alright.  This happened on our first day as well.  However, what has me on the warpath is that the scalawag returned to do it again three minutes later. What chutzpah!  Obviously, I leaped up and banged on the door.  Unfortunately, when an ugly huge human does this, not only the meanie, but also the cute, squirrels run.  In annoyance, I went outside and peeled the kernels from the only remaining ear into the bowl.  My thinking was that the “one-at-a-time” dainty eaters will still be able to eat within our sight.  In contrast, the muscular tricky squirrels will not find anything worth hauling.

I wonder what can happen next?

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