Squirrels!

So, recently while spending wedding gift cards at Target to beautify our home, Ashley decided she wanted a bird feeder. I'm cool with that, as long as she agrees to clean up after our feathered friends... We got one, as well as some nails, a hammer, and a metal contraption to hang it out on our patio. (That was the fun part - my favorite presents are the ones that say "Some assembly required.")

Soon afterwards, Ashley had a day off from work, and so while she studied, she sat by the window with the camera, watching for birds. And guess what she found? Did you say birds? Wrong! Haha! Oh, what's that? You said squirrels? And that I gave it away with the title? Oh... Touche. Anyway, this is our friend Zatara, the squirrel, stealing our birdseed. He's learning to share, though, so we'll let him stay. Check out some of these awesome moves!

First, he climbs the wall, and makes sure nobody is looking...

...and then he leans clear out from the wall and holds on to the bird feeder (which is hanging, so it swings away from him) while he gets his meal...

...and then he literally hangs by his toenails to enjoy his spoils!

Yep - Zatara's got some serious moves! We have some more pictures of birds we'll put up later, but these are pretty much the best.

Now, for anyone else that wants to keeps squirrels out of their birdseed, I've done some reading on the subject, and there's a couple of things you can do. You can get one of these, which are supposed to be "guaranteed" squirrel proof. Of course, Ashley will tell you that it's not "cute," so it may not be the solution for you. You could also try this, or possibly even add your own chili powder or hot sauce. The reason being that birds cannot feel the hot sensation that comes from chili peppers, but squirrels can. Who knows if the squirrels here close to the border are used to it, but that's the word on the street - err, internet... If we get sick of Zatara, we'll break out the Tabasco. But for now, he's a welcome guest.