by Mary Fonvielle

Created on: November 29, 2009   Last Updated: December 03, 2009

The Persistence of Squirrels

Tree rats, my father called them, but squirrels are different from rats in one main aspect. You rarely see a rat; they strike at night, taking what they can and leaving only a few small mementos to mark their passing. Squirrels on the other hand will boast their antics in broad daylight. Those fuzzy little monsters are performers, acrobats. One morning I counted two dozen of them in our backyard alone. They seem to take delight in the fact that you can't do a thing to deter them.

Our birdfeeders soon became squirrel buffets. We tried hanging one from a clothesline between two trees but tightrope walking turned out to be another of their many skills. Because of squirrels, my summer BLTs did not have fresh tomatoes. One morning in particular I remember walking out to the large flower pots that held our tomato plants and for a moment I dared to believe that the squirrels had forgotten about them. Three lovely red tomatoes beamed out at me from their foliage, just begging to be picked. Sadly it was not meant to be. On the underside of each one, a thumbprint-sized nibbling and the bugs that came after. The tree rats had struck again.

They're cute though, with their gray-brown fur that is always in place and their beady black eyes too big for their heads and those tails that look like the back part of them exploded and then froze there. I sometimes think that their strange yet adorable appearance causes me to forgive them their antics.

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