Mother Nature always wins

Living in a rural area of northern Indiana has taught me a healthy admiration and respect for Mother Nature. In spite of our advancements in technology, She can still surprise us with errant thunderstorms, high winds, frigid temperatures, soaring highs, and sweltering humidity. She can also bless us with gentle breezes, crisp evenings, and sweet sunshine. The winters in this part of the state are, in a word, grey. If there is snow on the ground, there are days where the sky is the same color as the earth. The only relief is the stark outline of denuded trees. It can be a long and very drab three months.

Then comes April. I wait impatiently to see signs of the Earth awakening from Her long winter’s nap. Shortly after seeing crocus and daffodil pushing up out of the ground, I know it will soon be time for the migrating birds to return. How I look forward to that, to see the bright black and orange bodies of the Orioles as they eagerly eat the grape jelly I put out for them. Then in May, the beautiful variety of Hummingbirds supping on sugar water. My husband and I so enjoy watching them from our back deck.

This year, we added a double hooked bird feeder to our back yard. One side is full of bird seed for smaller birds, and the other has a hardpacked cylinder for the larger varieties. I also purchased a cute little statue of a girl holding out her apron. I put seed in the apron for the

ground feeders. We were all set to observe the sights and sounds of these lovely native birds.

Enter THE SQUIRRELS; one large Fox Squirrel and two smaller Red Squirrels. I looked out my window one morning to see what kind of birds were eating from the bounty we had set out for them. Yes, Orioles at the feeder by the deck, finches on the tube of bird seed, hummingbirds darting to their sweet treat. But what was that at the cylinder?

What bird had long fluffy tail feathers? I had to get the binoculars to check this out, and was rather disappointed to see that it was a large squirrel happily munching away on the peanuts and seeds.

So began the battle. I doused the feeder pole with cooking spray. How my husband and I laughed to see the squirrels jump onto the pole and slide down. The only problem was that the spray would dry and have to be frequently reapplied. Someone suggested putting a Slinky on the pole. I found a small one that I thought would work perfectly. It took awhile to wind it around and around and around the pole, but I did it, standing in the hot sun. We watched gleefully as we saw one of the Red Squirrels approaching the feeder. He jumped up on the pole, hit the Slinky, and did, indeed, slide down.....once. After studying the new device on the pole, he figured out how to place his hands

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between the spirals. Up he went. I unwound the little Slinky from the pole, and bought a bigger one.

Once again I stood in the sun and coiled the Slinky around and around the pole. It worked.... once. Then the squirrel simply ran inside the spring. Up he went. One time I looked into my back yard at my cute little girl statue, her apron full of bird seed. There was one of the Red Squirrels sitting on her head, putting me in mind of Daniel Boone and his coon-skin cap. Another time, he was curled up in her apron, gorging on the seed we had put out for the ground feeding birds. I lugged the statue out to my front porch; no small feat since she is made of solid concrete. Once again I unwound the metal spiral from the bird feeder pole. We knew we had finally come up with the answer: we would put BOTH Slinkys on the pole. This would stop both the large squirrel and the smaller squirrels from climbing the pole. On with the smaller Slinky. On with the larger Slinky. I waited for the squirrels to approach the pole, snickering as I hid behind a window. I KNEW I had foiled them this time! And I did....once. I watched as the squirrel studied this attempt to keep him from climbing. Then, he went under the big spring, pushing the smaller spring with his nose until he could squeeze out of the top of the larger one. I stood there, defeated. I was out of ideas.

It’s a good thing we know our neighbors. They’ve seen me trying to use a Hoola-Hoop with one of the neighbor girls. They’ve caught me dancing out on my deck before I realized they could see me from their back yard. I’m sure it came as no surprise to them, then, to see me repeatedly come out on my deck, yelling, “Hey, squirrel”! Or to see either my husband or I throwing ice cubes at our feeder. Or, once the squirrels decided to call my bluff and simply sit and stare at me from the top of the feeder, see me clapping my hands, leap from my deck, and chase the squirrel off the feeder and up into the tree in the back corner of my yard. Yes, I have been reduced to this, all because a squirrel doesn’t realize he isn’t supposed to eat the seeds that have been placed so easily within his reach. Don’t despair. I have finally come up with a solution. I bought a bigger cylinder, so that the birds and squirrels can share it. Mother Nature wins again.

Squirrels will go to extreme measures to get to the bird food. Luckily, the providers are equally committed to ensuring that they outsmart the them. The outcome provided a compromise where squirrels and birds can both feed together.

Thank You Marla for your story contribution!

If as a member of the Middlebury community you have any submissions or suggestions, fiction or non-fiction alike, or even someone whom you feel we should recognize, please feel free to email me at delightfullyhere@gmail. com.