Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “squirrels”

29 Aug 2026
15 Comments

Backyard Bystander: A Squirrely Dilemma


Oh, those squirrels. I have a grudging appreciation for them since they are fairly entertaining and liven up our window side theatre.

Once I learned how to (mostly) thwart their attempts to raid our bird feeders we settled into an amicable relationship: we provide peanuts and they provide a show.

That is, until recently.

Our primary squirrel residents are fox squirrels, the large ones with gray coats and orange tummies. They are curious, personable, and definitely comical. For over 20+ years they were constant in our yard. We even had one squirrel, Syringa, who would come bounding up to us and sit on our leg while she cracked open peanuts. She would never allow us to pet her though. She lasted a couple of seasons, as a squirrel’s life is a short one, unfortunately.

Syringa would hang out with us. On hot days she resorted to “splooting” — stretching out on the cool concrete patio

In the last couple of years our squirrel population increased with the addition of a couple of red squirrels.

These are odd little critters. Tiny, just a bit bigger than a chipmunk, about half the size of a fox squirrel, these little guys are frenetic compared to their foxy cousins. They zip and dash about gathering up seeds and nuts, burying with the determination of a terrier hiding bones in the backyard. They resemble little terriers as well, the way they bound about with purpose. They are not personable. They are caffeinated. They rarely stay in one place long enough to be watchable. Their main purpose in life to claim as much food as possible and as quickly as possible.

They have also chased away all our fox squirrels. I wondered what happened to them, thinking it strange how we went from several cavorting around the yard to none.

It became clear to me one day as I glanced out the window. I spied JB (short for Jitter Bug), the alpha red squirrel, suddenly zip out from the day lilies and take on a juvenile fox squirrel, who, though young, was twice the size of JB.

JB tussled with that foxy intruder (an interloper in his mind) like a tiny tornado. Foxy, being a squirrel, being food-motivated, did not give up, and kept attempting a raid on the birdfeeder gleanings. Although after the third time of being trounced soundly by JB he is gone.

I did spy a couple of fox squirrels crossing the driveway, migrating to our neighbor’s yard. I see them frolicking together, living the squirrel dream.

We are now a one-squirrel yard. We have reluctantly accepted the fact we harbor a bully squirrel. This presents a problem, as we like our backyard to be a haven for wildlife, with the idea that feathers and fur can safely come and go in peace.

JB is not interested in that agenda.

What does one do with a bully squirrel?

I am quite open to suggestions.

Posted in reflections and tagged , , , , , , ,
17 May 2024
4 Comments

The Writing Life: Bird Buddies + One


Since retiring from teaching (two years come June) I am writing more, since my excuse of not having time because of how much time teaching requires is no longer my safety net of non productivity.

I diligently try to write from 9 am to 2 pm and even though the hubs will pop in and say a brief “hi” as he does retired guy stuff around the house, I have to say writing is quite solitary.

However, I have discovered writing has become less solitary since I have set up a bird feeder, birdbath, and squirrel platform outside my office window. My bird buddies, an ever changing rotation of chickadees, nuthatches, and sparrows brighten my day. The squirrel adds hilarity as it plots to get more than its fair share of birdseed.

The other day a white-crowned sparrow discovered the feeding station as well as wayward seeds on the windowsill. He hung out all day.

A personable sparrow

At times it seemed as if he was peering in at me. Wanting to encourage his return I sprinkled more birdseed on the window ledge. The sparrow did not return, instead the resident squirrel crashed the party.

Yes, it is big for a squirrel

I do not get as much work done, unfortunately, with all this distraction, but I did manage a blog post.

Posted in reflections and tagged , , ,
27 Feb 2024
1 Comment

Armchair Nature Days


The upside of the rainy days we are experiencing is the snow has melted. Usually this is an inducement to get back outside and start walking once again. However, low temps and blustery winds are keeping me inside.

My YouTube walking workout is not the same as striding along the sidewalk and hiking along trails, but it’ll do for now.

I do miss being outside closer to nature, listening to birdsong, squirrel chatter, and watching the deer slipping in and around our yard. This winter we set out more food than usual for the critters and have reaped the benefits of armchair observing.

Here are a few favorite moments:

Outside my office window. One of our resident squirrels enjoying his bounty.
This guy will sit up in the apple tree as if he is surveying his kingdom.
Starlings have been attempting to bully their way into the feeding fun. Not my favorite bird but they were fairly impressive in their gathering.

*Oh oh, news flash–seven inches of snow expected to come in at 9 pm. Yikes! Hoping spring will rally forth soon.

Posted in reflections and tagged , ,
27 Sep 2021
3 Comments

It’s a bit squirrelly lately…


Not sure if we have adopted a squirrel or if she has adopted us.

It began with me spotting a medium grey squirrel bounding across the lawn. A somewhat unusual sight. Deer are more frequent visitors. Squirrel activity diminished with dogs moving into the neighborhood.

Or so we thought.

Upon spotting the bounding squirrel I mustered up my squirrel call. You know the one, that high-pitched ch-ch-ch the do. Yeah. She was impressed and came leaping right over to me. She look fairly surprised to find me instead of a swaggering grey suited critter of interest.

Since then she has shown little fear of hanging out in the yard with us. Costco is making a tidy profit from the bags of peanuts the hubs buys for her.

She will cautiously approach us and grab a peanut from our fingers. Rolling and measuring its worth in her mouth she will then deposit it in some part of the yard. Digging like a little terrier she pats it in place with dainty satisfaction and traipses over for more. I split them open because once open she tastes that peanuttyness and snacks right on the spot, inches from where I sit on the bench. Syringa, does truly work for peanuts.

Now we have a couple of new additions. A tiny sable squirrel who discovered the neighbor’s squirrel proof bird feeder could not deter him. He used our fence as a diner freeway until trashing the bird feeder in less than two weeks. He has moved on the freebie peanuts laid out for Syringa. She’s having none of it.

Their tussles and chitterings range across the lawn and through the lily leaves. Entertaining turf wars at its best. We call this little guy Skitter, since he moves as fast as a drop of water on the pancake skillet. He’s too fast to snap a photo.

And a third squirrel has appeared. Yet, this one is a puzzlement. I notice it is small with characteristic squirrel gray coloring yet its eye rings are white like a chipmunk and so is its tummy. The legs are brownish. A hybrid squirrel? We’ve dubbed this one Buddy, as in “Hey, Buddy—what are you?”

The birds are beginning to vacate the area for warmer climates so there is less action at the feeder. On the other hand, the colder weather is ramping up squirrel activity as they gather nuts and bury them all over the yard. I find peanuts in my plant containers, in flower beds, and all over the lawn. How will they find them all?

Syringa will come over and spread out on the concrete like a dog when we are hanging out back. Classic splooting stance.
Buddy infiltrating Syringa’s snack tray. Strange markings for a squirrel, wouldn’t you say?
Posted in Animals, fall, humor, Nature, reflections, Seasons and tagged , , ,

Post Navigation