No, tsaeb, I did not show your response to my husband, though I'm sure he'd get a laugh out of it.

Show-off.

quote:

Originally posted by tsaeb:
Show-off.

I don't know what you mean. Againstill.

Squirrels love screen doors. My neighbor Frank has a screen door from his den to the side yard overlooking the pond. The squirrels climb the screen and frolic all over it, upside down, sideways, pausing to look cutely at him, and displaying their fuzzy tummies. Finally he will get up from his computer and go hand-feed them some sunflower seeds.

I suppose in winter when the inner door is closed they will tap - tap - tap, too.

Babs, I think Frank is never gonna get rid of squirrels by feeding them as reinforcement.

Maybe you should provide a copy of Pavlov's experiments? LOL

Personally, I hate squirrels. They chewed a hole right through the garbage can lid outside (it was plastic at least!)! I mean, my God, that is compulsive!

Our squirrels seem quite indignant now we close the conservatory door overnight.In the morning there's always one sitting on the window cill,looking in, waiting impatiently for opening time and access to the sack of peanuts kept for them in there, whilst his or her comrades are watching from a distance.

They haven't taken to knocking on the glass yet

Frank likes the squirrels. He call each of them 'Buddy". He calls the bears each "Buddy", too.

In the woods, squirrels are just wildlife. We don's see them as town people do, as just a striped rat with a fluffy tail. There are lots of things for them to eat here.

quote:

Originally posted by babthrower:

He calls the bears each "Buddy", too.

That would make sense. Frank's old enough to remember the boxer, world heavyweight challenger (1941), 'Buddy' Baer [note spelling] No idea who 'Buddy' Squirrel was

Squirrels around here are definitely 'in the country', but they learn fast and have got wise to the uses humans can be put , hence ours venturing up to the house.We don't mind them .The days are gone when we'd shoot them or trap them for a government reward of so much per tail. Here they are only in danger from man in areas where they are in competition with the native red squirrel.There they are eradicated,to preserve the native reds. These squirrels are the grey squirrel, a native of Carolina but now widely found in the USA.They were unwisely introduced to Britain as a novelty in the C19.

Townies here call 'their' squirrels 'Cyril'

I don't mind the squirrels, I just mind it when they're being weird.

quote:

Originally posted by Elexina:
I don't mind the squirrels, I just mind it when they're being weird.

Weird squirrels? What are you seeing that we aren't? The mind boggles !

[I accept that even American squirrels in Britain are 'weird', in common with nearly everyone else British, as judged by Americans ]

That’s IT, Fred, they must be British squirrels! No wonder they are so inquisitive and polite. And they do mostly appear when it is raining...

quote:

No wonder they are so inquisitive...

But you'll notice that they never ask a direct question. Unless it's impersonal. Instead they just skirt around until they wear you down.

Actually, these are pantsing around.

We have the squirrels that appear and disappear on a seasonal cycle. Squirrels are nutty creatures, they have distinct personalities and have their character defects.

Of course we have The Almond (singular) a hang over from when this property was part of an almond orchard, and the 3 English Walnut trees, the 2 black walnut trees. We have 4 old California oaks that produce a form of acorn they appear to like. We also have several variety of pine and fir that produce pine 'nuts' (seed) and other things that they like.

During the nut seasons they are here in mass, they chatter and 'lecture' me as I rake up the leaves. One of them 'throws' the hulls and shells at me if I get to close. S/he has been doing that for several years.

Three years ago one tried to jump between the flanking Oaks on either side of the drive way and ended up falling to the tarmac. Sadly he broke his back. Animal control was called and when they got here they said that they couldn't 'take' him since this property sits on edge of the protected park, so we had to call the Wildlife preservation folk who came out and said that we were not part of their jurisdiction and we needed to call animal control.

I ended up putting on the leather gloves and putting him in a box and taking him to the vet. The vet 'put him down' humanely. Not a pleasant thing (boxing him) since he was in a lot of pain and made a horrible screeching sound.

The squirrels may be a nutty bunch, but I insist that we humans are the worst when it comes to crazy. The inability for animal control and the wildlife people to decide who does what is one example.

On a funnier note, the kid across the street thinks our squirrels are monkeys....

When I find an injured bird, I squeeze his chest very hard in my hand. This kills him very quickly, from lack of oxygen. To put them in a container, then into a noisy frightening vehicle, then perhaps sitting in a waiting room with cats and dogs around, though well-intended, is very distressing to wild life.

I did send a towhee to the bird sanctuary by ferry this summer, though. I had called the vet, but he said that what they would do is send him to the bird sanctuary on Vancouver Island.

So I decided it would be less stressful for the bird if I took him to the ferry myself. The bird was not badly injured, but had lost so many feathers he could not fly, so it would have meant a cruel death by predators to release him. I was worried that the truck ride, then noise of the ferry engines, plus his fairly minor injuries, would put him in a state of shock; but I phoned the sanctuary later and he had survived the trip.

They planned to keep him till his feathers grew back, then release him in a remote area.

I take pets to the vet, though. Because pets trust us, and are familiar with riding in vehicles, they are much less distressed by the procedure.

Once I had a chicken that was very sick: lost weight, no appetite, lethargic. I know what my farming ancestors did in a case like that: wring its neck, then into the stew pot. Couldn't do it. That sweet little hen was also a pet.

I used my small greenhouse as an execution chamber. I know that each year, in colder climates, humans die in tents or cabins because they use a barbeque burning charcoal brickettes to heat the sleeping area. They die peacefully in their sleep. I know that carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the least distressing methods known: odorless, tasteless, the animal or person gradually losing consciousness.

So I made a little nest out of a wooden box and some straw, and put it in the greenhouse, and laid the weak little hen in it. I put a thermometer inside where I could read it from outside through the clear plastic. Then I lit the barbecue and shut everything down. I sat beside, reading in a lawn chair, for an hour or so. No movement from the chicken. Temperature was a little warm, about 101 degrees F., but it was a chilly day. So I went about my business. When I returned the barbecue had burned itself out, and the little hen's head had toppled over on top of her wing. That was it.

I found the experience comforting, though. Now I know that if I ever get some lingering disease, which would mean I would either be a burden to my relatives, or become a resident in some custodial center, I have a humane option for myself!

quote:

Originally posted by DvdGStwrt: On a funnier note, the kid across the street thinks our squirrels are monkeys....

Is that an indication of capricious youth, or a horrendous science education?
Of course, one of my mother's neighbors used to think locusts were birds. She was 40.

Perhaps the kids have heard of the squirrel monkey [saimiri sciureus ] ?

babthrower: You should write a book about your experiences with animals, birds, and the like. However, omit me, the beast.

Good idea, tsaeb, I'll call it "My Family and Other Animals." Oh, no, can't do that, it's already taken. I'll call it "Various Beasts". So you'll fit right in, you once told us you were fluffy.

babthrower: Fluffy? Me? You must be thinking of my having curly hair (predominantly on my head).