Crazy Squirrel Lady!

| Casey Wyatt

This week’s post has absolutely nothing to do with writing. But, over at the Scribes, the fabulous Lisa Kessler is my guest. She’s talking about prequels.

As long as I can remember, I’ve had a soft spot for squirrels. Since my dog died last year they’ve gone virtually unopposed in the backyard. This summer I got the idea to start feeding them separately so maybe they’d leave the bird feeders alone. And I think they are really cute.

My plan sort of worked. Every day, they visit my back door looking for peanuts. I know there are people out there who can’t stand the furry little guys, but I’m not in that camp.

Younger son immediately got on board. He loves all the creatures great and small, including this cute chipmunk (we have three regular visitors).

Older son scoffed until the first squirrel came up to him looking for peanuts. He too became smitten by their cuteness. I think the cats are secretly hoping that one of them will come a little bit closer.

Now I have a few who like to hang around on my screen door. For those wondering, none of us try to hand feed the little beasts. We all understand that, while squirrels are cute, they are still wild animals and should be treated as such.

Yep. Just call me the crazy squirrel lady!

19 thoughts on “Crazy Squirrel Lady!”

  2. My dad used to sit at the picnic table and feed the squirrels peanuts by hand. My friends and I thought this was so cool. Until he discovered them making a huge nest in his basement. I guess they figured he was a steady food source and was perhaps offering lodging as well. My brother had to trap all the little devils and take them far away to stop the invasion. In his later years, dad took to banging on the screen door with his cane to keep the “little bastards” as he fondly called them, from stealing every speck of bird seed he put in his feeders. They are indeed wild animals and should probably be treated as such:-)

    1. Any squirrels trying to nest in my basement will get a rude awakening when my two cats hunt them down. Seriously, I will be babysitting my mom’s Schnauzer soon and she will scare the beejesus out of all of them.

  3. LOL That is a FAT squirrel 😉 My son likes to watch them run around and be crazy. He sits outside and cackles at them. “Look, their running down the sidewalk!” “Look, there’s one in the basement!!” Yeah, we have all kinds of squirrely fun!

    1. Yes. It must be all the peanuts. We had a hawk in the yard last night and I joked that the squirrels better start waddling away!

  4. I once set up feeders on my deck for the squirrels but one day saw a rat eating out of it … that was the end of feeding the squirrels. No more putting little dishes out on the deck, I now have hanging bird feeders which they frequent. I like to watch them and always feed them over the winter. I have discovered they love crackers with peanut butter.

    1. I like to give them peanut butter on the ends of the bread that no one will eat. Or I give it to the birds. We also have Blue Jays that swoop down and steal all the peanuts from the squirrels.

  5. The only squirrel I like is Rocket J. Squirrel, because he would never eat the pears off my tree, chew holes in my cabin or take up residence there with a few dozen of his closest friends and relatives! They are cute — until you realize the hard way that they are just born for destruction. 🙂 I love the chipmunks though. Go figure.

    1. One year the squirrels (or maybe a raccoon) ate the gas hose on our gas grill. Because the grill came from Sears we had to special order the part (total pain).

  6. They are cute! I went to college in Oregon and loved the campus squirrels. The squirrels here in AK are scrappy little dudes. On the other hand, there are two moose in my front yard right now, eating all the cabbages and broccoli I didn’t get cleaned up. It is still dark out, or I’d take a photo. FYI, you shouldn’t hand-feed a moose, either. 🙂

    1. You have moose! How cool! And I hear you shouldn’t try and drive into moose either 🙂

      When I was in college in DC, I had a campus squirrel buddy named Stubby (because her tail was down to a nub). I used to carry peanuts in my backpack for her. I still think about her after all these years. I am a total squirrel nerd.

  7. I love them too, Casey, esp. the chipmunks! We have one who hangs out on our back deck, called “Chippie” in our house. I’m dying to bring one in to play…and my cat feels the same way too!

    1. Too funny. We all our chipmunks Chippie too. There are three, but one has a shorter tail so he or she stands out. For some reason they haven’t been around. I hope they are okay. See, I worry! I know my cats would love a shot at the chippies.

  8. I’m with you, Casey. I think they’re adorable. I have a family of squirrels that hang out behind my house also. I’ve never thought of leaving peanuts for them, but maybe I’ll follow your lead and try to make friends.
    Great post.

  9. I love squirrels, but you never know, they might move in with you!

    1. I hope they don’t because my cats would get them. Or my mom’s dog. It’s in her DNA to go after rodents (being a Schnauzer and all!).

    1. Thanks Jill! I wish I could snap a shot of the Blue Jays. They have gotten into the fray now but they move faster than my pokey camera!

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