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Norma Boeckler designed this photo from one taken by Animal House Studios in Bella Vista, Arkansas.

Google Blogger has made it easy to install a favicon, a small image that appears in the browser window.

I used a photo taken by our granddaughter Josie, at the park in Glendale, Arizona.

Danielle Greets Sassy Sue by Name. Squirrel Defies Baffle Again, In Spite of Trimmed Bush

Sassy Sue and I had to do some banking, so we stopped at Dairy Queen. Danielle was there to give us a large vanilla cone and greet us. Danielle looked up this blog. I thought I mentioned her in the last post, but that was probably something I published on Facebook.

We went to DQ for Father's Day on Saturday. Danielle met most of our son's family and said to Martin, "I see your father three times a week." He said, "Dad!" as if I would feel guilty. Three is just when I see Danielle. Others are there at different times.

DQ is relatively low in carbs, and I avoid the candy extras, like those Blizzards (invented in my hometown of Moline).

Those Saucy Squirrels
It was bad enough to see the squirrel use my $15 baffle to rest his leg while eating from my squirrel-proof bird-feeder. He used the bush for his other leg. My solution was to trim the bush away, leaving him no access from the bottom.

The next time I saw him on the roof of the bird-feeder, hanging down and using the bar to open and close the feeder, shaking seeds into his greedy mouth.

My failures include:
1. The feeder itself, because he climbed up and held onto the pole with one arm while manipulating the bar with the other one.
2. The baffle, since he used it as a footstool to reach the feeder and shake seeds into his mouth.
3. The bush-trimming, which only forced him to land on top the feeder and hang down while using the bar to shake sunflower seeds loose.

Note this link I am putting on the permanent list. If you like watching God's Creation, the photos and stories are excellent.

Squirrel Baffle Update: Spoiled Entitlement Squirrel Uses Baffle To Reach Food

Here is someone's video, showing how clever squirrels are.

I have been placing peanuts on the window sill, mostly for the squirrels, but also for any birds (like blue jays) that love them.

The new baffle from the hardware store was working well since Sunday - so I thought.

Today I watched a squirrel reach the squirrel-proof bird-feeder and eat from it, using the bush as one foot-rest and the bottom of the baffle as the other. He was a little unsteady but ate continuously and happily.

Some may remember that I faced this Olympic athlete before. I cut away all the bush props at the other feeder, because he reached up into it with his tiny paws. After losing the lower perch, he dangled down from above, his hind legs allowing him to clutch the bush while his front paws scooped seed from the bird-feeder.

Squirrel - Proof Friendly Feeder Raises Score to 11-0.Squirrel Baffles Humans, Defeats Squirrel-Proof Feeder

For Father's Day last year I got a squirrel-proof bird feeder. We were all enchanted with the blue jays nesting in a bush outside the bedroom window, within eyesight of my computer desk. The squirrels are abundant, so I got the model illustrated above, with weight on the bar keeping the seed locked up.

Birds are so light that many can feed on that bar without lowering it and shutting off the food supply.

This worked well for an entire year. I fed the squirrels field corn and a new composite type of corn. When I bought a bag of peanuts in the shell, for snacks, I decided to share them on the window sill. I lift up the window, place some peanuts on the ledge, and watch them feed.

Recently two fed at once on the window sill. I thought they would fight, but instead, one groomed the other, chewing through the pal's fur. Suddenly they sat up and faced each other. Turf battle? The Sill-marillion? No, they touched paws and faces in a quick little friendship move. Grooming resumed after.

For Father's Day this year, the squirrel decided to defeat me again. He climbed the pole of the bird-feeder, held on with one arm, and pumped the bar to jiggle sunflower seed out into his mouth.

I had my wife come and watch the show. She said, "Time to take down the feeder!" I said, "No, this is entertaining. Besides, I can put a baffle on the pole."

Sassy Sue and I went to hardware store for a baffle. Duncraft sells a large one for about $30. I can imagine an ad saying, "Perfect for our formerly squirrel-proof feeders!"

Sassy went outside with me to install the bracket under the baffle. Unlike the photo above, our land is fairly level and Sassy's friends live next door. They love to have her walk over and greet them. I have to watch them, since Homer is a grouch who thinks Sassy is too peppy and loud. Sometimes he sits in the corner and looks disgusted. Once he bowled her over. Sassy watches for cues from me. I call her back after a few seconds of mutual greetings.

Sassy Sue is quite popular around town. At the dog park, children love to throw her ball and watch her snatch it out of the air, bringing it back. Very few dogs retrieve balls. I have not seen one that brings it back to the owner's hands.

More significantly, Sassy Sue astonishes the audience by jumping up with her three legs to get the ball. No one is surprised when she plants herself and catches the ball with a loud "Swak!" sound on the way down. But when she is running full speed away from me and grabs it before it hits the ground, everyone says, "How does she do that?" I am still impressed, after seeing it done many times.

One father was far away with several small children. Soon they were all behind me, watching the show. Next they were participating. More than one girl has said, "Sassy is a bossy dog!" I usually answer, "They gave her the right name." I have not heard a dog talking so much at the park. Sassy tells me to hurry up when we walk toward the gate. She barks loudly at her friends inside the park.

People see the loving nature of Sassy right away. She has a shy smile that invites petting, and she asks for more. She recently sat in my lap, put her paws around my neck, and hugged me. If she can involve two of us in petting her at the same time, that is perfect.

I happened to stop at Dairy Queen without Sassy in the back seat. The young woman gave me the cone I always share with the family and asked, "Where is Sassy Sue?"

Sassy's new duty includes watching for the fox in our yard. Our daughter-in-law first spotted it last year, but I thought that was just a chance sighting, an animal walking through. The fox must live in the wooded lot and prowl our yard a lot.

Sassy's perch is on top of my pillow, looking out the bedroom window that faces the wooded lot. This is where she keeps track of everything on our little street. Dogs and cats do not trouble her (except on TV) but that fox sends her into hunting mode.

I have seen the fox walking back into the woods, thanks to her alarms.

When I go to the kitchen, three dogs follow me, in case I am getting something they like. They love the sound of things being unwrapped. When I make a cheese sandwich, they expect some, lining up shoulder to shoulder.

I normally ask, "Would the Three Little Piggies like some cheese?"

They move forward one step, in unison. When I told this story in a sermon, Sassy's ears perked up.

Sassy Sue Vocabulary
I have lost track of how many sounds Sassy Sue can make. She has a German Shepherd vocabulary and all the strange vocal habits of the Cattle Dog, derived from the wild Dingo which is part of the breed's DNA.

She rarely warbles, but it is fun to hear. One night she saw her reflection in the bedroom window, since the inside light was on. She sat up and warbled, warning us about the dog in the window.

When I stop at the bank or post office, she sticks half her body out of the window and gives me a loud bark, once or twice. She grins at me and sits on my seat until I return. People find it comical when they see her in the driver's seat.

Last week I stopped at the vet's office to pick up medicine. Sassy's last trip earned her some shots. I left the window down. She stuck her body out and gave a long warbling warning cry. I understood. "No more shots!"

Disappearing Suet Rouses Our Dogs at 2 AM

I was asleep when all three dogs began carrying on. I heard odd noises around the window, where the birds feed and suet hangs. I just put new suet in the baskets. A third basket disappeared on the front side of the house, so I suspected a raccoon. Last year they put an end to the large bags of suet being hung outside, since each one lasted a day.

I keep a flashlight on the window sill, but I could not find the culprit at first. I waited until the burgling sounds started again. I shone the light at the window. The shameless raccoon faced into the light, a symbol of thievery and greed, his masked face limned with hunger. With my flashlight beam illuminating him, he reached up and effortless unhooked the basket holding the suet. It fell to the ground and he went down to finish it off.

We live in the woods, above a ravine, not too far from a creek. We enjoy seeing God's Creation at work around us.

The Donkey Poem, Reprise

The Donkey -

a poem by G.K. Chesterton

WHEN fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will,
Starve, scourge, deride me I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools, for I also had my hour,
One far fierce hour and sweet,
There was a shout about my ears
And palms before my feet.

From Norman Teigen

Mr. Squirrel Gets Artificial Corn

I was going to write about early spring feeding when the blizzard hit, 24 inches of snow in the Sunny South, Arkansas!

To keep my costs low and the suet available, I buy the little blocks of suet at Walmart for 90 cents each. They have prices that go up to $1.30 for each square, but those have delicacies in them, like blueberry chunks and seed blends. The lowest cost ones have a little bit of cheap seed, probably millet.

I loved the huge blocks of peanut-enhanced suet from Duncraft. Sassy Sue (the wonder dog) followed me around and licked them before I put them up. The last two were stolen in less than 24 hours, so I gave up on them. Previously, they attracted lots of birds, including bluebirds. I also give them credit for attracting the pileated woodpecker, which I saw twice.

My favorite view window now has two little baskets of suet on the left side, one hanging from the other. In the middle is the squirrel-proof feeder from Duncraft, full of sunflower seeds (about 50 cents a pound, Walmart). On the right side is a reconstituted corn cob on a squirrel feeder.

I bought the reconstituted corn on a whim. A bag of two cost $7, about the price of a bag of crumbling field corn cobs, while last only a few minutes on the feeder. I have two spiked feeders, so the package looked reasonable if they lasted.

Mr. Squirrel was not happy about the change from all-natural to Portland cement. There were some initial tastes but not much action. After about a month, the tasting turned to feeding. My wife asked, "What is that gnawing sound?" Mr. Squirrel was chewing the corn away, slowly. I figured it was good for his teeth. So far both corns have lasted a long time and served the tree rodents well.

Before the corn diet started, Mr. Squirrel used the suet basket as his personal ice cream cone. The weather was still quite wintery. To get some extra calories, he held one basket in his paws and licked it for a long time. Yesterday I found him on his back, licking the basket from the bottom. How did he keep his balance? He hooked one hind paw into the screen, which made him quite secure.

Suet is very popular and thrifty for pleasing a lot of birds, not to mention squirrels and raccoons. We have birds feeding on the suet all day long, and a 90 cent block lasts around one month. Many species eat suet. We see a few starlings, various woodpeckers, and bluebirds.

I was looking into mealworms for bluebirds, whether live or fried or cooked into suet. Duncraft has confused mealworms with caviar, charging the same price for them. A container of live mealworms is around $40. When I dye my hair blue and go to Paris every spring, I will spend that much on worms. Until then, no dice.

We no longer have four male cardinals feeding at the same time, as they did during the last blizzard. But we are seeing a male and a female around the feeder. Cardinals are claiming their territory by singing. That is one of the benefits of God's Creation. The males claim territory with their beautiful songs, which translate into English as, "This is my yard. This is my mate. Come close and I will fight you off."

The male cardinal will feed the female from the sunflowers as part of the mating ritual. It is quite a sight.

The variety of birds is improving as they get used to a steady supply of dry, fresh sunflower seeds. The bird seed companies charge far too much for millet, which is either wasted or eaten up fast as a junk food. Black oil sunflower seeds need to be cracked open.

The cardinals open the seeds by chewing with their powerful beaks, so the birds stay on the perch and eat, with a droll expression on their faces. Chickadees and other small birds need to peck the seed open, so they usually carry the seed to a branch, hold it in their claws, and hammer down with their beaks to open and eat.

Sassy Sue always go out to feed the birds with me. She usually plays tag with the neighbor's dogs, but yesterday he went over to greet another neighbor. She is so friendly and smiley that everyone loves to see her and pet her.