Human language is lit with animal life:
We
play 'cats
in
the cradle'...or
have hare-brained
ideas...
we
speak of badgering...or
outfoxing
someone...
to
squirreling
something away...and to ferrit
it
out.
(Jay Griffiths)
In October a few years ago, I moved to a Seniors' residence in
Burlington. Many items I parted with, but not my Hibiscus
plants...one with delicate pink blooms, the other with double red
petals and golden stamens. Experience from their previous homes, I
knew to winter them inside when exterior and interior temperatures
were approximately the same. They loved sunshine with a mixture of
shade...however, winter was their 'dormant' period. When mid-May,
arrived, I moved them outside on my third-floor balcony.
By mid-July, they seemed to suffer setbacks with loss of leaves and
minimal buds. Checking for insects? None. In early fall, I
transitioned them indoors over the winter; they somewhat recovered
and the following spring, new growth brought them to life...and buds
developed into full blooms. AMEN!
Enjoying the summer on my balcony with morning coffee and bagels, and
reading the daily Spectator...often sharing lunch with a friend or
two...my hibiscus plants and hanging baskets of flowers thrived in
the summer breeze and and afternoon sun.
Then one day a couple 'visitors' arrived:
two cute little characters sat nervously together looking at me
with startled eyes and big bushy tails.
Two
Squirrels...one gray and one black. How did they get to the third
floor? With tiny claws and balancing fluffy tails, they clambered up
the brick wall...and sneaked under the balcony's plexi-glass panels.
Their quest, I'm sure was for food...or a place 'to nest' (possibly
in a couple empty flower pots containing some soil in their depths.)
I was amused whenever Gray
and Blackie
came to 'visit'.
By the end of the summer, my hibiscus plants
were nearly stripped of leaves and ceased blooming!
Nervous,
they'd become, whenever I entered my balcony...they were a study 'in
contemplation' sitting like little statues, (as though they had
guilty consciences) ~ until I shooed them away and they'd scramble
down the wall and dash to the nearby trees.
My hibiscus, both of them, died a slow death!
I agree with Sarah Jessica Parker who stated,
“A
squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.”
The
following summer, to outwit Gray
and Blackie,
I resorted to hanging baskets, only, with colourful artificial
flowers!
However, this did nothing to deter my mischievious squirrels! They
simply climbed the wall to reach the leaves and flowers for a good
chew. Persistent they were and pesty...hoping they'd not be caught.
Over the winter, I heavily bagged these flowers, placing the package
against the wall below my table. They were not undaunted! You
guessed it! They chewed through the heavy plastic..and bit holes in
the long heavy planter box to reach for their tasty bites.
The next summer, I totally abandoned any consideration of flowers!
Never
Give Up!
Blackie
and Gray,
unable to find 'food' on my balcony
had another solution from their little brains!
Sitting
at my computer in the corner of the Living Room..and glancing behind
me...“Guess Who” was boldly sitting on my large Indian carpet?
Blackie,
extremely
nervous about his 'Break and Enter'.
Opening
the balcony door, I tried to shoo him out; instead he retreated to my
bedroom to hide; batting him with a towel, he ran into my closet.
Then I opened my front door to the hallway...hoping he'd quickly
dash either route. He high-tailed it to the Living Room and I
towel-chased him to the balcony. In desperation, Blackie
escaped
under the plexi-glass panel...soaring through the air to the parking
tarmac below ~ then dashed to the nearby trees along the bike path.
The mystery is...how did he get into my apartment?
Discussing
with the 'Super' and a few neighbours, someone suggested he may have
come through a window. Sure enough! The bedroom window was open, so
Blackie
chewed a hole about 3 to 4 inches wide in the screen! And
Voila...his 'Break and Enter crime!
A
Trick That Worked
Later
that summer, again at my computer, playing Bridge Online, I heard
something on the window ledge beside me...between the sheer drape and
the open screened window...then noticed an irregular shaped hole in
the screen Yep! There was Gray!
With
both my hands, flat against the drape where she was sitting, I pushed
her towards the hole...and through it. Scrambling to my balcony, I
tried to shoo her away. Scared to death, she made the great leap
from the third floor to the ground below. The nearby trees were her
escape route!
The
following year, only once did I have a visiting squirrel on my
balcony...(was it Gray?)
Noticing
Mourning Doves had chosen to nest on one of my black wrought-iron
chairs, I believe my gray squirrel decided to explore elsewhere!
My screens were replaced
and my balcony, for a few years, was devoid of plants and flowers.
Kindly note, Readers: I never offered 'food' to these pesty little
creatures.
A
“Bear for Punishment”???
End
of last August, 2016, I purchased from Holland Park Garden Gallery a
Hibiscus
Patio Bush...the
price was right as it had no buds ready to open ~ colour of blooms
was unknown. This big leafy plant produced 75 magnificent coral-red
blooms from its sunny balcony home.
For its following 'dormant sleep' I brought it inside in early
November.
I've noticed squirrels are beginning to gather nuts for the
winter.
A couple of my friends are missing!
Are you in a 'safe place'?
(Anonymously written, the photo shows a squirrel
searching for nuts through fallen leaves on the ground)
Composed by Merle Baird-Kerr...May 25, 2017
Addendum:
Today, June 6/17, Blackie returned! Sitting on a wrought-iron chair
adjacent to my hibiscus bush, he's chewing leaves from my precious
bush! I notice, also there is considerable amount of dark soil on
the balcony floor ~ he's obviously been in the hanging basket of pink
geraniums!
He's
either hungry...or 'nest-hunting'.
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