SQUIRRELS AND CATS AND OTHER THINGS

Our cat doesn't like us.

At the shelter, when we took her out of her cage, she was friendly, well-mannered, and calm. We petted her and she seemed glad of the attention.

We got her home and...

Once out of the carrier, she took off and it took several days for her to come around us. Now she looks down her nose at us, like she's saying, "Okay. I allowed you to break me out, but that doesn't mean I have to put up with you." She doesn't like being petted. She doesn't like the kind of food we feed her. She won't come sit with us. She won't play with us.

Oh, she doesn't scratch or claw when we pick her up. But at the first opportunity, she hops down and runs the other way. And the only time she approaches us is when it's time for food.

Otherwise...We're on our own. She hangs out in her room and we hang out in ours. If she decides to play with her toys, she plays with them by herself. She stops playing if we try to join in.

So we've taken to exclaiming over the birds and squirrels that seem to abound in our yard, hoping she'll get a little jealous. So far, no good. But the other critters are quite cute and fun to watch!

Like this squirrel. He gets on the big feeder and pitches food out on the ground while picking out the tastiest morsels for himself. Here he is in the bushes, eyeing the feeder:

And here, he's climbing up the feeder:

He strikes all kinds of cute poses as he eats:

The doves below like for him to eat, too, since they get what's on the ground.

There are also cardinals, a blue jay, and other birds that I have no names for. But they're all interesting.

Thank goodness, they'll entertain us since our house pet won't! Though she enjoys watching them, too.

BIRDS WITH THEIR YOUNG

Looking out into our postage-stamp of a back yard:

Our lilies are starting to fade but are still pretty.

And this bird came up to the feeder the other day. I don't know what he is, but he has a splash of red on his wings that you can't see in the picture. We hadn't noticed him before or since. Maybe he was just passing through.

And I could not get a photo of our cardinals. Every time I tried to take one, they spotted me and flew away. A couple have been eating at our bird feeder for some time and lately, they've shown up with a large baby. Well, it can fly so I guess it's technically a fledgling.

What seems strange to me is that the mother and father feed it from the bird feeder. The baby sits on the table or a chair, and a parent comes down from the feeder and puts food into its mouth. A couple of times, the baby has lit on the feeder and seems to be eating, then she goes back to her old habits, waiting to be fed.

This has been going on for several days now. I'm wondering if the baby is a little slow? Seems like she ought to be able to feed herself by now.

But what do I know? Maybe this is what all birds do!

VISITORS

We've had visitors for several days, including the Fourth of July, and hope to have more in the next week or two. Since we've been busy with them, we've just now got around to getting more food for Mr. Piggy.

Yep, Mr. Piggy. The squirrel who tried to take over the bird feeder.

Our new feeder seems to be keeping him out though. The cardinals and some others are back to eating at it, but I don't think they like the landing posts as much as the tray on the old one. I had to take these pix through glass so they aren't too sharp, but here's the female cardinal at the new one.

Mr. Piggy tried eating from it, but it slides down and covers the feed holes when he puts any weight on it. He was quite frustrated.

So we're leaving the old one up for him. He can eat and strew seeds to his heart's content.

SQUIRREL AND BIRD FEEDER

Our bird feeder has been great for enticing blue jays, cardinals, and other birds. It has also attracted a tree rat.

Mr. Piggy, as we've nicknamed him, has been eating way more than his due. And what he doesn't eat, he throws around on the ground. On occasion, he's even brought a friend to party with him.

Here he's getting to the food.

Here he's had his fill.

Mr. Piggy may be a cute little thing, but we have invested in a new bird feeder. This one has a covering. When a weighty object like Mr. Piggy jumps onto the feeding tray, the plastic cover slides down and blocks the openings to the seed.

I'll let you know how it works.

NOSY SQUIRREL

We must now contend with a squirrel at our bird feeder. He looks young, and eats up all the seed.

Yes, he's cute. But we had these critters up in north Georgia and they made a mess of our house. They nibbled holes in the sides and tore a vent (with wooden slats across it) to pieces. They'd get in the attic and party. My guy had to put up steel wire to keep them out.

He doesn't intend that to happen here so he got cayenne pepper, which is supposed to deter squirrels but not hurt birds. He mixed it with the seed and poured some on the feeder ledge.

Seems as long as the pepper's on the ledge, the pesky rascal will stay off. But in a couple of days, he's back to his old tricks.

This morning when I glanced at the feeder, the squirrel wasn't on it. He was at our sliding patio doors, bumping into the glass trying to get inside. Then he started picking at the screen, doubtless hoping that would get him somewhere.

I ran over and fussed at him.

He stared at me, unmoving.

I made as if to open the door.

He stared at me, unmoving.

I unlatched the door just as I remembered the rabid fox who bit a man in town a couple of days ago. Was this squirrel rabid? Would he pounce on me?

He stared at me, unmoving.

My hand (which didn't keep up with my brain screaming "Don't do it! Don't do it! He'll bite you! You'll have to have shots!) was already sliding the door back.

The little critter started ambling off.

Whew! Not rabid.

I yelled and went after him. He thudded into the fence trying to get out.

He moves a lot faster than my cats.