December 15, 2015 by Born To Organize

Squirrels Stop by For Lunch and That Strange Polldaddy Link

How’s that for a catchy title, eh?

Before I get to the cute squirrel photos, I wanted to thank Lisa and Kelly for pointing out the odd polldaddy url. It started showing up in front of posted comments. Weird.

Originally I ignored it. These things tend to pop up now and then, then disappear without notice. Who am I to question why. This odd feature however refused to budge.

I contacted the WordPress Help team, and here’s what they had to say:

We’re aware of this issue and our developers are working on a fix! The URL is related to the Ratings feature being enabled in comments. A recent update has broken this link. If you’d like to avoid seeing this, you can disable ratings. Otherwise, our developers are already on it!

If this shows up on your own blog comments, know that a fix is under way.

Now on to the cute squirrel shots.

I asked one of the boys to strategically locate three tiny pumpkins from my Halloween display to the top of my garden bench. I knew the squirrels would enjoy the treat. The top of the bench gave me a front row seat to their cuteness.

Back in October, three small pumpkins were part of a display

Yum!

I love the way she/he’s holding on to the curled stem.

Double Yum!

Plump and happy, a bit like me after spending six weeks on the couch while helping myself to Hershey’s Kisses.

Footnotes

I had my six-week follow-up with my doctor this week. She’s delighted with my progress! I am free of the cast at night, but will continue to wear the surgical boot/brace by day. I’ve also started to walk with crutches. She wants me to continue the exercises and to begin to put about 25% of my weight on the foot. It’s painful to walk, but necessary for healing, so I’m following orders and looking forward to continued healing. I’ll be on crutches for two to three weeks, and if all continues to go well, I’ll be back in real shoes by early next year.

August 10, 2015 by Born To Organize

Fledgling Hummingbirds, Baby Squirrels and an Unexpected Pumpkin

I’ve been meaning to update you on the baby hummingbird we rescued in June. You can read the entire story here. After caring for her overnight, I drove the little darling to an animal rescue organization where they immediately placed her in round the clock foster care. She thrived. Within a few weeks our fully fledged little Ana started her new life in the wild.

Temporarily fostering a baby hummingbird

I think I exhaled out loud once I knew she was okay. Hurray for second chances.

On the subject of second chances, check out this baby squirrel.

Baby squirrel enjoying a fresh tomato

We’re taking part in the occasional back yard release of urban squirrels who are either orphaned or injured before they can make it on their own. The first group of squirrels high-tailed it from our yard last fall without a backward glance. This second group of six are staying closer to home. One in particular is incredibly trusting. I keep startling her when I round a corner at my usual brisk pace, only to find her nibbling on tomatoes.

Holding a cherry tomato

I inwardly smile at my own double standards. I’ve been disappointed in the past when squirrels eat the vegetable garden. It’s especially disheartening when they take one bite out of a pumpkin, leaving the rest to wither on the vine. Instead I snag the camera and happily watch her nosh away at the tomatoes while I point and click.

Two years ago, nasty squash bugs moved in. They arrived uninvited with family and friends in tow. Most of that year’s crop fell victim to the vermin. I harvested two surviving pumpkins, but the rest of the fruit succumbed to the ravages of that pest.

2013: Adult and juvenile squash bugs

Last year I moved the crop to our front deck so I could cleverly outsmart the little juice suckers. All seemed well until the plants set fruit. No amount of handpicking or pruning could slow down those squash bugs and again another crop went belly up.

2014: Squash bugs ride again

This year I decided to skip planting altogether, hoping to send future generations of repulsive squash bugs packing. Then we entered year four of this punishing drought so I skipped planting anything all season.

This brings me back to the squirrels. I think they may have planted a pumpkin. Last fall I sheet mulched part of the lawn. At the edge of the path, an all-volunteer crop of tomatoes took root, circling a single pumpkin. They’re all happily growing in a dry dirt patch without a drop of water!

At first I refused to invest any emotional energy into a crop that would surely expire after the first heat wave. The pumpkin plant did indeed wilt, but then it did something else: it pumped out one small, starting to turn orange pumpkin. Within a few days, the fruit shriveled and died, snapped clean off the vine. I left it there for future noshing and went about my business. What a tease!

Then this happened:

An as yet, undisturbed foot-long pumpkin

How can you ignore that?!

So I did what any self-respecting gardener would do: I encased the pumpkin in a leg of pantyhose. I found a box of extra-large pantyhose on clearance at a local drugstore.

Just my (pumpkin’s) size

Pumpkin secured inside the leg of a pair of pantyhose

Dear rats, squirrels and other foraging critters, Please eat the tomatoes and leave the pumpkin. We only have one. Thank you, The Gardener

The ample material gave me plenty of wiggle room to cover the pumpkin and to allow it to continue to grow. I’m not the only one that hates pantyhose. Apparently that nylon irritates rats and squirrels as well. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Not that I care or anything.

Because…I don’t.

😉

June 30, 2015 by Born To Organize

A Scurry of Baby Squirrels

Did you know that a group of squirrels is a ‘scurry’? I had to look that up. A ‘dray’ of squirrels is also correct, but scurry fits the bill.

Chip and Dale: A Twosome

Late last year a friend put me in touch with a squirrel rescue group, Injured and Orphaned Wildlife. They take in orphaned squirrels and care for them till they are ready to be released into the wild. They’ve called me twice to make arrangements to release the squirrels in our back garden. They want to re-release the squirrels into neighborhoods with established squirrel populations. Yup, we qualify!

Ann arrives with the nesting box

Ann came by Saturday morning and left a nesting box of six young squirrels. The first two darted out of the box and raced up the tree and over the fence. I watched for a while from our bedroom window. One of the squirrels left the box and ran up the fence, but the cat netting (a barrier we use to keep our cats safely inside the fence) confused him. Instead of running along the fence to freedom, he froze in place…for over ten minutes. Poor little thing.

I’m not budging till it’s safe

The remaining two or three kept us entertained all afternoon. They poked their heads out of the box, then jumped out. Back in they went, then out again.

Finally, the braver of the two (or three, it was really hard to tell) climbed up the side of the compost netting, into the orange tree and up to the top.

I’ll just be on my way

By dusk there was only one squirrel left in the box and he didn’t want to leave. Ann said to bring the box off the ground once it got dark, so I moved him to higher ground and faced the box toward the fence. That seemed to be all he needed to leave his wooden home, and off he went exploring the garden.

We have hundreds of photos and video of these squirrels. I’ve pared it down to a respectable number to share. I feel like a first time mom hanging on to every precious little picture of her offspring.

Nom-nom-nom…Ann brought some cucumber

Bashful? Hiding behind a slice of cucumber

I’m also a little worried. These squirrels are used to people, though their rescuers do their best to keep them ‘wild.’ One of the six squirrels, however, is brave. Too brave. I’ve startled him twice (both times eating tomatoes) and he just glanced in my direction. He was breathing heavily, but he didn’t run away. I hope that part of it is simply the folly of youth. It’s not that I want them to be afraid of us, just that I know they need a certain savvy to make it in the wild.

In any event, all eyes were on the garden this weekend as we peered through windows and doors and occasionally ventured outside. For the second time in a month I’ve had the enormous pleasure of interacting with nature. It’s extraordinary.

Just for Fun:

Mike propped his iPhone between two books and set the camera to time-lapse. This 28 second video is actually 28 minutes in real-time. No sound, just half a minute of crazy fun.

September 3, 2014 by Born To Organize

Crafty?

What do you think of my crafty idea? Should I enter it in the county fair?

What am I?

It’s part mutant octopus, part over the top wreath. It might even show up on a Pinterest board entitled “Crafts Gone Terribly Wrong.”

So, can you guess what it is?

Give up?

It’s part of my squirrel nesting experiment. After destroying the slipcover in July, the squirrels returned to hand-pick the stuffing from the lining of the swing. I disguised the damage with a cotton shower curtain which only slowed them down. Now they carefully fold back the edge of the cover and continue to pluck the stuffing.

My sorry-looking garden swing

My experiment

I smoothed the curtain/cover over the exposed stuffing and placed two things on top:

The soft, exposed lining of the sunflower…

Exhibit A: Sunflower Fluff

The idea came to me this morning when I found a shredded sunflower head in the middle of the lawn. I couldn’t believe how soft it was. Maybe they’ll use the pulp for nesting.

…and my octopus wreath.

Exhibit B: Octopus wreath

My ‘wreath’ will not be entering any craft fairs, but with luck it will serve its purpose: Lining the squirrel’s nest.

Stay tuned.

Sunflowers in Art

Yesterday, Val at Nikitaland said “I love that flower painting on the glass as it makes a nice statement in the backyard, not to mention, I love how it adds instant color! I bet it looks beautiful when the sun hits it!” Thanks Val!

I tried capturing the light this morning with mixed success, but you can see why I hung the painting over the back of a trellis instead of the fence or wall. The sun pours through the glass window around ten in the morning. If I’m lucky enough to be home, I get to enjoy it.

Whitney Pintello: Reverse painted sunflower on salvaged window

July 3, 2014 by Born To Organize

Caught in the Act!

My apologies to the rats, crows and mice of the neighborhood. You’ve all been unjustly blamed for the damage to my swing cover. Today this brazen squirrel continued her destruction. Here she is: caught in the act!

Gathering nesting material

Let me just put this back for you

She barely looked up when the camera flashed, then went back to the business of chewing. She ran off when I stepped outside. I decided to cut my losses at that point, and pulled out what remained of the soft cord. I draped it along the back of the swing, fairly sure she’d return when I turned my back.

I came back mid-afternoon after a few appointments and there she was again, this time under the swing. She’d pulled the cover half off. Rather than shredding the offered cord, she took the entire length back to her presumed nest. I’m sorry to have missed that photo opportunity.

My swing cover is beyond repair now. Perhaps the ‘silver lining’ is knowing that part of the cover will be keeping tiny squirrels warm and comfortable in a nearby tree.

Enjoying the 4th

Tomorrow is Independence Day in the States. My teenage boys have outgrown the 4th of July parade, so I’ve re-purposed all their 4th of July sparkle. I gathered the ribbons, pinwheels,and other bits of red, white and blue once used to adorn their bikes and added some bling to the garden. Doesn’t the pumpkin patch look festive?

Pumpkins, sunflowers and some 4th of July bling

Patriotic watering can

Fairy garden bling

It’s a funny thing celebrating American Independence Day when you’re a Canadian ex-patriot with a British father. I sometimes feel like a bit of a fraud. So in my heart I’ll celebrate independence for all the citizens of the world. Let freedom ring.

December 23, 2013 by Born To Organize

Retrospective: My Year of Squirrels

As the year winds down, I’ve decided to create a few retrospectives.

Without further ado I present: My Year of Squirrels

Sure, they can drive you nuts while they dig up your bulbs, but their cuteness more than makes up for it.

November 1, 2013 by Born To Organize

A Feast Fit For a Squirrel

When you carve a lot of pumpkins, you end up with lots of pulp. It smells divine!

We grow carving pumpkins, not known for their tasty flesh, so we usually scoop out the pulp, set aside some seeds, and compost the rest. That’s how we got this season’s crop: via the composting bin.

On my way to the compost pile earlier this week with the pumpkin innards, I made a detour. We have a nice clearing under the fruit tree, the perfect spot for snacking (if you’re a squirrel). I dumped a big pile of pulp and seeds under the tree, figuring I could always move it elsewhere if there were no takers. Ha!

It’s been a busy week, so I temporarily forgot about it. From the kitchen window on Thursday, a squirrel posed for me on the deck, but didn’t bother to wait for me to fetch my camera. Not above a small bribe, I gathered a handful of raw almonds and headed out, camera in tow. He performed some acrobatics in the tree, seen below diving to the lower branches before heading over the fence and away from view.

“Flying” squirrel antics

I came back inside feeling a bit dejected, looked directly out the back door and did a mental head slap. While I was busy chasing a squirrel around the front yard, one of his friends was out back enjoying a feast.

Wow…this is good.

I know, I know…my diet starts tomorrow

I tiptoed outside, sat down in a chair, and snapped away. The visiting squirrel and I enjoyed the feast together and bonded over our mutual love of gardening. When he had his fill, he planted a couple of seeds on my behalf.

.I’ll plant this one over here…

…and I’ll plant another one over here.

Was that my phone or yours???

Sorry…I need to take this call.

Gotta run. Thanks for the feast.

Cue the music: the circle of life.

January 11, 2013 by Born To Organize

Smile! You’re On Gardening Nirvana

Some days you get lucky. Today was one of them.

Like the felines in the house, many of the garden visitors put on a show till the camera comes out. Then they’re off, lickety-split. Today I was able to snap some cuties.

First up, this dark brown squirrel. Most of our native squirrels are grey with a white belly. This little fellow is dark brown with an amber belly, pressed up against the fence. He’s been busy stashing peanuts in a corner behind a rock. They nab the peanuts from our neighbor’s yard, then head over our fence to either bury them or eat them.

A dark squirrel with amber belly hugs the fence

Stashing his peanuts behind the Daphne

Peanut Wasteland

A more typical gray squirrel passed through with a peanut in his mouth. Isn’t he adorable? He jumped into one of the planters when he saw me, then ran back to the lawn to squirrel away his peanut.

Grey Squirrel with Peanut
I wanna hold your hand!

We enjoy frequent visitors at our hummingbird feeders. Today I ‘searched’ the orange tree with my camera lens to see if I might spot a nest. In retrospect, given the number of squirrels and rats that visit each day, the tree is probably far to active for nesting. I followed the bird’s flight with my camera lens and captured a few shots of a hummingbird new to our area. I’ve never seen one like it. My research says there are a dozen hummingbird species in California, but none of them resemble this little one. Take a look at this species list and let me know what you think.

It’s been bitter cold for several days, down to freezing most nights. I’m keeping the feeders topped off, especially after learning that the non-migratory birds are nesting from now until May or June. I wonder where they go to stay warm?

I originally planned to hang bags of laundry lint for nesting material in the spring. Since learning that hummingbirds are nesting now through May, I plan to hang lint tomorrow.

In my fantasy world, I have an invisible cloak like Harry Potter. I would spy on all the wildlife up close without fear of detection. Would you like to join me?

December 9, 2012 by Born To Organize

The Big Chill: Out of the Crisper and into the Soil

Three’s a Charm

When you live in a warm climate like California, it helps to employ a bit of trickery with the tulips. So when I bought three bags of tulip bulbs back in October, the first step was a cool dark rest in the crisper drawer of our fridge. Keeping bulbs in the frigid dark, prompts their DNA into thinking they’ve been through an early chill.

Today I planted about a dozen bulbs along the rock wall near the garden fence, convinced that the racing squirrels overhead were just waiting to dig them up for lunch. I tamped the soil firmly and with determination, hoping they’ll stay planted through early spring. I buried the rest of the bulbs in a variety of pots, and in a few random locations around the garden.

Ready to Plant Tulip Bulbs

Squirrel in the Pittosporum

Squirrel in the Pine

Figuring I could hedge my bets (or chance of survival) by interspersing the bulbs in heavily planted pots, I tucked them deep into the corners and under the canopy of existing plants. I hope they survive the onslaught of the squirrels. They’ll be a magnificent if they do.

Tulip Bulbs

November 1, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Squirrel Candy?

While my tulip bulbs are having a good chill in the crisper, I planted a few snowdrops. I only had ten, so I alternated bulbs between pansies in three narrow pots along the walkway. What beautiful displays I would have come spring.

Normally I add a layer of organic mulch, but in my never-ending quest to discourage snacking squirrels, I covered at least half of the pots with rough pea-gravel. I used what I had on hand, left over from a summer project. How I wish I had gone out to buy more!

It was a good, though unintended experiment I suppose.Those rascally squirrels dug up all the bulbs in the soft mulch pots. There was nothing stealth about that heist. They left gaping holes, scattered dirt and a disappointed gardener. The gravel-covered bulbs, however, are still untouched.

Perhaps there is something to the rough texture of the gravel or the extra weight. Maybe it detracts from smell of the tender bulbs buried below. For now, its working. Who knows? Perhaps they dug up the bulbs, so they could hide them somewhere else. I’ll have to wait for spring before I know. I’m pretty sure they ate them.

The tulips have been in the fridge since early October. I’ll plant them in mid-November while the squirrels have their backs turned. This time I’ll be sure to stock up on scratchy gravel ahead of time. Alternatively, I’ll purchase large bags of peanuts as a peace-offering, leaving mounds of them on top of the precious bulbs. It just might work!

Are you planting bulbs this year?

Footnotes

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Just for Fun:

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My experiment

Sunflowers in Art

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Enjoying the 4th

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