SQUIRRELS

We have a bird feeder on our porch we fill with bird seed every day

We love to watch the different birds visit…the cardinals, the wrens…the jays

But every time we fill the feeder we painfully become aware

how the squirrels also like birdseed…and squirrels don’t like to share.

I’ve tried a myriad of solutions to deter the squirrel attack

but no matter what I’ve done…they just keep coming back.

I tried attaching a rope to the feeder, in through a window next to my favorite chair

I would pull it and make the feeder swing when I saw a squirrel in there.

Little did I know, however, each time I pulled the string

that squirrels not only like to eat…they also like to swing.

I fastened the feeder to a zip line where birds were light enough to dine

but the weight of the heavier squirrel would send it streaming down the line

Yet I found myself dumbfounded…(my frustration I couldn’t hide)

when more squirrels than ever before lined up…awaiting their turn to ride.

I heard squirrels hated hot chili flakes but they would not deter the sparrows

only to find the squirrels partying in the feeder…wearing serapes and sombreros.

Lastly I found a wooden cat and affixed her near the feeder

hoping she would stand guard and become a squirrel impeder.

But she only made it easier…gee I hadn’t I thought of that…

now the squirrels don’t have to jump to the feeder…they just step upon the cat.

So we continue to feed the squirrels by filling the feeder every day

and occasionally when they squirrels are full we see a cardinal, a wren or a jay.

But I am not discouraged…I see this as a problem for the ages…

My next solution, as I watch the squirrel fill his little cheeks

is in the planning stages.