COMFORT FOOD

Tillie here has had a rough day. First she was chased off the bird feeder by humans. She realized a new, crusty snow drift provided an easy jump up to the feeder, but then the humans came out and shoveled a wide path around the feeder so the new access to sunflower seeds was gone in a flash. When Tillie escaped, she went up the wrong tree - it had been already claimed by a tiny red squirrel – 1/3 Tillie’s size, mind you. Mr. ‘In Charge’ Red never got the memo about being afraid of larger animals, and faster than lightening, he chased Tillie down his tree and up another. (Red’s picture on Flickr makes him look like a sweet little thing, but we know better!)

Tillie was pretty dejected by then, but was still determined to find another way onto that feeder. She tried climbing the flimsy branches of a bush about 3 ft. behind it, but the feeder back is flat, so there wasn’t any place to land. Suddenly she noticed the red berries - and Tillie lived happily ever after.

I was glad poor Tillie found a special treat to comfort her after her traumatic morning. Funny thing, these berries have been right there since early fall, and the squirrels haven’t shown any interest in them before today. Also, there are lots of seeds and peanuts on the ground, so the squirrels have plenty.