Do you remember Pesky Squirrel?

It's hard to believe it's been over three years since our relationship with pesky squirrels began. You may remember that when we first moved here we set out to make our backyard a sanctuary for birds and the occasional chipmunk but a certain squirrel was eating all the food. Thus began our battle:

This squirrel is brash, I tell ya, brash!

At first, it was just a battle of wits. But then the guy made a hole in our porch screen and helped himself to an unopened bag of birdseed.

Seriously! A squirrel was bold enough to come INTO the house.  This squirrel just was not to be deterred.  This bird seed?  Must be like crack for squirrels!  It causes squirrels to commit bolder crimes.

I'm not sure when it "happened". I guess it didn't happen all at once. But sometime between then and now the squirrels have become part of our backyard party. I think it became a game that Jordan and I were winning. We cut back nearby trees so that there was not easy access to the feeders. It actually took two years for one of the squirrels to figure out how to get on the feeders. He was aided by some very rogue shrubs that grew up around the feeders. We had to give props to the little guy when we saw the acrobatics involved in the bird feeder dining.

One fella has gotten fairly proficient. But some of the others have tried and failed. They always seem to bounce back...so there's little to worry about. The birds have shown that they can manage to eat with a silly squirrel on the feeder. So we've kind of taken a let's not let it be too easy...but, we don't mind if one or two squirrels are able to outsmart the obstacle course to the feeder. See? What a difference a few years can make.

Ranger Raccoon

So, my steadfast Hubby continued the vigil to "catch" Ranger in the act and take photos.  I wanted to tease Hubs to ask if we were going to share the pics with authorities...a "beware this thief is on the lose" type public service announcement.  But, we've come to think of Ranger in a friendly manner.  We do take the fact that he is a wild animal seriously.  We make sure that we give him ample "warning" before we go outside...you know...tapping on the window, saying things like "I'm getting ready to go outside"....saying this pretty loud so that even the neighbor's dog can hear us.  --We don't want to be in the yard at the same time that Ranger is there. And I definitely don't want my dog out there when Ranger is there either.

My dog is so extroverted that there is a chance that he would think this masked man/animal was a new playmate. That would not be good.

But, for now, "It is what it is", which means some kind of cool photo opportunities.

All Ranger photos are by the Hubster. I am using them here with his permission.  I found this "poster" app on Lunapic and just couldn't resist making a poster...you know like those cheesy inspirational {though cheesy} Motivational Posters.   As I said, I just couldn't help myself.

Guess Who Is A Regular Visitor

You may remember we had a surprise visitor earlier this Spring Hubby vigilantly sat on a stakeout to discover who was eating the bird food during the night. The squirrels were quite bold, but we were pretty sure that they are not nocturnal.

I gotta tell you, I have a {healthy} fear of raccoons.  I know they look cute in the Lone Ranger mask but I'm pretty sure that they can bite the sh*t out of someone.

Hubby and I were curious if Ranger {yeah, we named him} would come back. We hoped not....but we also sort of hoped so. We wanted to get some pics of this guy.  Do you remember how seriously he took the challenge to outsmart Pesky Squirrel?  Well, Ranger has proven to be a different sort of challenge.  After the undeniable proof that we had a raccoon stealing our songbird's food, we felt a duty to bring in the feeders each night.  We hypothesized that after finding no food for several nights Ranger would move on.

Taking in the feeders is sort of tricky for timing.  The birds are still out singing and coming to the feeder until dusk is over. We don't want to discourage them from eating, so we wait for them to become quiet before bringing in the feeders.  The thing about that is that it is often already dark and sometimes we forget.  But for at least a week, the feeder remained full overnight, so we thought, yep, Ranger moved on to another food source.

On Friday night, Jacob {poodle} and I were sitting on the couch watching TV when both Jacob and I heard a sort of clatter outside.  It's Spring, so we knew it wasn't Santa. I said to hubby:  "Hubby did you hear that?  It sounded close...like in the yard or something".  So hubby went to the window, turned on the floodlight, and Ranger was on top of the feeder.  He stopped, looked at hubby and evaluated if we were coming outside. He decided we weren't, so he went right back to eating.

Hubby wanted to get a "good" pic of this wild animal in our yard. But of course, his camera was not in the kitchen (where we can seem Ranger from the window). Hubs went about getting his camera and when he came back to photograph Ranger was climbing down from the feeder and left.  Hubs couldn't believe he missed the shot.

When I came home from work the next day, I noticed a tripod and camera set up at the kitchen window.  I didn't say anything. I knew that Hubs was going to ensure he was "ready" for the next raccoon encounter.

April

This photo was taken by my husband on what may have been the prettiest tree day this year. April is quickly coming to a close.

The Mystery of the Bird Food Bandit

The squirrel can't be the only bird food thief! Right?  You remember that I was driven to crazy antics because a Pesky Squirrel was TAUNTING me. Not long after my meltdown {involving a broom} my sleuthing husband caught Pesky Squirrel in the act of outwitting us.

Pesky Squirrel

As you have no doubt guessed, we love birds.  Love to feed them, love to hear them, love to watch them, love to have them take bird baths...love, love, love. We've been really lucky here in our "new" yard with having birds visit our bird feeder.  We have a plethora of birdies that come to our feeders. --Or at least we did. Lately, though, we are having trouble keeping the feeders full.  We thought, "Yep, those birdies like the food!"

Turns out it's not the birdies that have eaten all of the food. It is a pesky squirrel.  Or rather several pesky squirrels.  The ring leader is Pesky himself. Once on the feeder he simply sits and eats for hours.  --Maybe not hours, but certainly longer than necessary to fill his little belly.  After seeing Pesky for the first time, over the next few days we started to count the little furry fellas.  There were two then three.  Before we knew it there were five!

So, off to the Wild Birds Unlimited store we go. To purchase a baffle. Once home we add the baffle to the bird stand thinking "Okay...that'll teach ya!" Less than an hour later...dang squirrel on the feeder.   

This squirrel is brash, I tell ya, brash! He's on the feeder almost every morning now.  When I knock on the window to scare him he barely wiggles his ears. When we open the bedroom window to yell at him we actually hear him giggle! When we go to the back door to walk the dog we stick our head out and yell "Get off there squirrel!"  --No reaction. Nothing. Hubby walks down the back door steps, still nothing. Hubby has to get halfway to the feeder before the squirrel takes him seriously. Hubby moves toward Pesky making cowboy "YAH!" sounds before the squirrel to leaves the premises.

(Sidebar: I love me a cowboy.) 

So when I saw the squirrel on the feeder the absolute same afternoon that we installed the squirrel BAFFLE...I couldn't believe it. How rude! I mean, let us think we've stumped you for at least a full afternoon. I was on the back porch when I saw Pesky on the feeder. I was actually sweeping the porch when I saw him. I may have looked a little crazy when I came outside. First I opened the door and yelled, "Don't make me come out there!" Nothing. Then I yelled, "Don't make me come down these steps!" Still nothing. So I came out, broom waiving in the air screaming, “I mean it! I mean it!"

So we moved the bird feeder.  Or, hubby moved it. 

Next morning...Pesky is eating from the now moved birdfeeder. The feeder that has a baffle and has been moved. We are starting to feel crazy. Crazy like Carl Spackler, the greenskeeper in Caddyshack. Spackler who is tasked with getting rid of the gophers that are tearing up the golf course. Spackler will tell you that this is no easy task.

Carl Spackler:  You must know your enemy, and in this case, my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever.

So, Hubby, knowing his enemy is a varmint that will never quit...sits in wait to see how Pesky is still getting on the feeder. I'm at work about mid-morning when I get the following text: "Caught in the act-squirrel jumped from lawn chair to bird feeder! The chair has been moved. Squirrel now sitting in a tree and contemplating next move."

I couldn't be prouder.

Urban Chicken Keeping

Raleigh's Urban Chicken Coop Tour, took place this past Saturday.  That's right...a CHICKEN TOUR.   It turns out that the Tour D'Coop is an annual event. My Mamacita loves chickens. Both she and my Dad had chickens when they were growing up in Rural Town. When I was at their house yesterday, both Madrecita and Dad had stories of holding their "pet" chickens in their laps when they were young.  Dad's chicken was a Rhode Island Red.  I can't remember what Madre's chicken was.  Since returning to NC, I've been more aware of the whole chicken keeping idea. As an aside, a dear friend of mine that lives only about 20 minutes outside of Seattle keeps chickens.  She has little goats too. Her chickens are allowed to roam the grounds until bedtime when they are put into their roost for safety. Before knowing my friend, I was only aware of chickens being part of livestock on a farm. It was neat to see that chickens are not just for people with large tracts of land and barns and the whole early to bed early to rise lifestyle.

Buff Orpington

In December of last year, Hubby and I were driving around some of the "Old" neighborhoods of our town. The houses are early 20th Century with an eclectic flair. The streets are narrow and many of the homes do not have garages or driveways, so street parking is prevalent. As we slowly navigated the cars and individuals puttering near the road in their yards, I saw an adorable house on a corner lot with three chickens in the front yard.  The FRONT Yard! The homeowner was in the yard working on yard landscaping type activities.  Of course, I had to stop and talk. The gentleman was initially guarded when I got out of the car to walk up to him. I suppose when he heard my squeal "Chickens!  You have chickens!", he realized I wasn't there to annoy with either Girl Scout cookies, Magazine Sales or Religious Pamphlets. I asked if I could take photos of the hens and if I could ask him some questions. He was quite gracious. City ordinance allows up to 3 hens to be kept inside city limits. These hens are Buff Orpingtons and his wife named them each something to honor their color. I was completely fascinated.

A neighbor down the street also has chickens. --He is someone I don't actually know, but I see the chicken coop in the front side yard. Mi Madre wants to keep chickens but my Dad is completely against the idea. I think for him, the thought of predators is something that would be too sad to bear. There are certainly predators around.  Last summer I saw several foxes running between the houses in my very suburban neighborhood.  And of course, there are hawks that are a concern. Dad says that the neighbor lost some chickens to foxes.  I have a friend that actually has a "real farm" and he has chickens.  He told me this Spring foxes devastated his hen house.

Hen located at Coop #16

Saturday, as I was reading the local Independent paper, I came across the one day only tour in the big city of Raleigh. The tour is billed as a garden tour as well as a "coop" tour that seeks to educate visitors about keeping hens and showcase garden ideas and inspiration. There is a wide variety of coop styles as well as surrounding gardens. This tour was one I couldn't resist. I picked up Mamacita so that we could both enjoy the event.

First of all, let me tell you, the tour was not overbilled. The homes are truly in established urban neighborhoods. As we drove through the neighborhoods with homes that are so beautiful they remind me of HGTV. Though the neighborhoods are defined as urban, they each had pretty substantial sized lots. Urban here doesn't mean highrises and bus stops. I think it really means very established older neighborhoods that are truly residential and not a hint of ruralness.

As we drove through the neighborhoods, there was absolutely no evidence of chicken keeping. But, as we were allowed to enter the back yard oasis, our eyes were treated to fun and artful chicken coop design. Evidently, there is not a clear maximum number of hens that can be kept inside Raleigh's city limits. Several of the chicken keepers had upwards of 20 hens. The hens were fun to watch scratching their grounds and hearing their quiet little clucks. It was clear that the owners enjoyed every aspect of chicken keeping. Not just the chickens and egg production, but designing and adapting their structures for aesthetics as well as utility.