I Am A Turncoat

[muffy]

For years we fed the groundhogs in the far back of our yard. We had three: the Brunette Bombshell and the Blondie Boys (2 of them). We have idea who was who or anything like that, but one was dark, two were lighter and so that's what we called them.



























































They loved dry cat kibble, they really loved apple slices. I'd take a container of water up to them at least three times a



day.














One afternoon, the Brunette Bombshell came up on the deck. I was sitting at the computer in the kitchen. She




















stretched out on the deck and gave me a belly wave! Then she hopped up on the swing and took a nap. What really got me is that our cats didn't care one bit; they didn't get upset nor were they the slightest bit curious. That made me

realize that the Bombshell had been spending her time on our deck for quite a while.







We don't really know what happened to them (although I do think our neighbor could tell us as he's known for
eliminating groundhogs). But we really enjoyed them spending time with us.

Last year a neighbor gave me some cracked corn to feed the deer. The first groundhog I have ever seen started coming up to eat it. He only hung around for about 2 months and then I did not see him anymore.
I miss that cute little thing. I have got to feed everything that comes into my yard. I guess I am lonely.

 

[di and bob]

I had the same problems with my bird feeders and squirrels and raccoons. I solved it by buying crushed hot pepper flakes and mixing some in the bird food. the raccoons and others will quickly learn to leave it alone, while the birds are not affected by hot tastes, they don't have the taste buds animals do. I started feeding the squirrels at a separate feeding station and now they stay over there, and I no longer have to use the flakes. Get cheap hard dog food to feed the raccoons. It's cheap and they absolutely love it. Don't worry about overpopulation, nature has a way of taking care of that. Raccoons hibernate in the winter so they seldom visit then. Tell your partner the same thing my husband told me, "a raccoon/squirrel's life is just as important as a birds, they need love too. "If we take care of birds, we should accept all. Feeding the raccoons separate would take care of all problems and be a lot cheaper in the long run!

 

[AbbysMom]

In this house it is me vs the squirrels.