Monday, 17 May 2010

Eat one - bury one for later

The squirrel's nut box was almost empty this morning by the time Squidge had eaten his breakfast. While he popped in and out of the nut box and then sat on the top of it eating the nuts, the little woodmouse was scurrying about underneath eating the bits that Squidge had dropped.
After Squidge had finished he sat on the wall just the other side of the fence so I went out and emptied the box and cleaned it out. I was very aware that he was watching me carefully from the other side of the fence. I suppose he was wondering just what I was up to so I carried on cleaning the box out and then washed off the perspex front. When I had finished, I filled it back up with fresh nuts.
This evening I have been stood in the kitchen for quite some time just watching him. He knows the nuts are really fresh and every time I refill the box he goes through the same routine. First he'll eat a peanut then he pops into the box again then gets down onto the ground and searches for a 'safe' place to bury one for later. When he buries them, he really does it in earnest, he digs like crazy, puts the nut into the hole then covers it up and pats the ground flat!
After a while, I think he realised that I was watching him because he began to stare at the window where I was standing. I pulled back the net curtain and asked him why he had dirt all over his face. He looked at me as if to say 'it's none of your b****y business' then carried on eating one and burying one.
The problem is, he will probably dig some of them up tomorrow and he won't remember where he put the rest but they'll reappear when I'm putting in plants. Some of them even germinate but I don't think our climate is suitable for growing peanuts but I'll leave the odd one or two again, just to see.

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