The Squirrel Dilemma
I like squirrels. I like all little fluffy creatures as most of us do, and growing up in the city where there weren't any it was a delightful novelty to see them bouncing about when I moved into this house. There they were, chasing each other round tree trunks, chuntering at each other and doing that really cute thing where they sit on their haunches nibbling at something with their weeny little hands. There is a care home next door but one, and they obviously put out stale biscuits for the birds. So on occasion I have been treated to the hilarious sight of a squirrel bounding along the fence with a whole digestive in its mouth.
So of course, we began throwing nuts out for them for the sheer pleasure of watching them eat. And that's when the trouble began. Because they don't always eat the nuts straight away, do they? They bury them. And they bury them in plant pots, chucking the soil all over the place. And if it's a young plant you've put out in a pot then you can wave goodbye to it.
A couple of years ago I planted an acorn in a pot in the greenhouse. It took 2 years to sprout into a tiny oak tree sapling but when it finally did I potted it on and placed it outside in the sun. Of course, flaming Tufty came along and dug it up, killing it. Two years of nurturing gone in a day. I should have known.
I also have an apple tree. They like apples. They hang upside down in the tree taking nibbles out of them. It's heartbreaking when you've set your sights on an apple crumble and half of them have got little tooth marks in.
And don't get me started on bulb planting in autumn. They think you're playing a game with them.
To feed the squirrels or not to feed them. That is the question. Well I keep doing so even though they drive me up the wall one minute, because the next minute I'm laughing at them. Gardening is a game of chance after all, and the squirrels are the comic relief.
Here's my novella about prefabs and gardens
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