this place is for the birds

Squirrels

matildasmom

4/14/08 10:09 pm

Until a a couple of years ago I never had squirrels in my yard. There weren't many squirrels in town. Up in the wilderness park or at the botanic garden I would see some native western squirrels, but then I began to see these other squirrels. First I saw them at the park. They began moving south until they were everywhere. They're invasive eastern squirrels and they're very aggressive.






I used to be able to keep a seed feeder for the birds on the ground. No more.



They eat my avocados and my tangerines. At school they chewed into the box where I was storing bird seed.



This morning I went out into the backyard to play with Matilda. I left the door open as I often do. After a little while, I went back into the house to fix breakfast for me and for Matilda, and I almost had a heart attack. There was a squirrel in the house!!!



I quickly realized it was Matilda's toy, but it sure did get my heart pumping.

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• 1grammy

  4/15/08 01:37 pm (UTC)

  

  That Matilda always playing tricks on her Mom!! Maybe you can get her to becom a squirrel hunter along with her many other jobs.

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  • matildasmom

    4/15/08 02:04 pm (UTC)

    

    Good idea!

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• dinahprincedaly

  4/15/08 02:01 pm (UTC)

  

  OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
  
  
  WHAT A RIOT!!!
  
  
  (seen any red squirrels yet?)

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  • matildasmom

    4/15/08 02:13 pm (UTC)

    

    No red squirrels...yet. In the front yard these invasive squirrels chew the huge pine cones from my pine tree and drop them off on the grass or driveway. I really need to be careful I don't get one on my head.

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• petulant

  4/16/08 04:01 am (UTC)

  

  You're very lucky! One day when I was still in high school at my parents' house a chipmunk found its way in. Now that was an entertaining afternoon.

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  • matildasmom

    4/16/08 04:24 am (UTC)

    

    Wow! I'll bet it was. How did you catch it?

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    • petulant

      4/16/08 05:14 am (UTC)

      

      My mom and a neighbor who had been outside working on his house managed to corral it into their computer room and then remove the screens to the windows and set up a little ramp and scoot at him with brooms until he zoomed out the window. My siblings and I, ever the helpful brood, stood outside the French doors laughing hysterically the entire time.

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      • matildasmom

        4/16/08 06:05 am (UTC)

        

        It must have been something to see!

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• dinahprincedaly

  4/28/08 06:10 pm (UTC)

  

  you should join this community, you might find the posts interesting
  http://community.livejournal.com/urban_nature/
  anyway, I hope you don't mind I sent the link to this post to the person who posted about seeing squirrels for the first time in so. calif

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