The property owned by the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters contains several trees, including six spruce trees, five in the rear, one in the front. All of the spruce trees are healthy and provide lovely flora, and attract certain fauna.
The Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters property also contains a wood pile, serving to feed indoor fires to warm the interior of the premises during the cold winter months. The fauna, referred to previously, has taken a liking to the wood pile during the summer months and pretty much claimed it as home.
Enter: Red Squirrel.
I hear the red squirrel is a dastardly creature who loves to destroy surroundings for its own personal benefit. However, I’ve found them very cute and playful. Not that I’ve personally played with them, but the way they chase gray squirrels around is quite entertaining. I’ve been watching the red squirrel(s) (perhaps, more than likely, there’s more than one) scamper around the yard all summer, being all cute and stuff. And then came the cooler days of autumn…
I’ve seen Red Squirrel running along the fence, jumping the posts, and scurrying to the wood pile, but with an interesting accessory ~ it travels the length of the fence, from the front yard to the back, with a pinecone in its mouth. The little guy looks like Groucho Marx, pinecone placed in its mouth like a big, old Stogie.
The pinecones, only those from the front yard spruce tree, are giving Red Squirrel a motherlode of seeds/nest materials for the winter. I’m not sure why it doesn’t take pinecones from the five spruces in the back where the wood pile is…apparently they’re poison. Day after day, week after week, I see Red Squirrel haul his “cigars” to the wood pile from the one spruce tree in front.
The days go on and Red Squirrel keeps “squirreling away” its pinecones. Husby finally said to me, “I’m going to have to uncover the wood pile soon.” I panicked. “What are you going to do with all of those pinecones?” I asked. “Compost,” was Husby’s answer. My heart shattered. “But Red Squirrel has been working so hard for so long! We can’t just toss all of those (cigars) away!”
Husby has more sympathy for me than he has for Red Squirrel and said he’d just toss the pinecones under one of the backyard spruce trees, easy for Red Squirrel to find. I hope Red Squirrel appreciates me as much as I appreciate Husby.
The pile of pinecones continues to grow…
This year I saved the bounty of the dreaded Red Squirrel. Why is the little fellow so dreaded? So cute. So playful. So determined to survive.
Husby promised me he’d throw the pinecones close by to where Red Squirrel “squirreled” them. I figure as long as he’s not gnawing on our house he deserves the fruits of his efforts.
Auntie B's Wax 