Conflict of the Creatures

So for entertainment we have been staring out the window at our backyard birdfeeder. Because of the snow I thought it would be kind to provide food for the birds plus this time of year there are even more varieties around. I decided to put cherry-scented seeds in because the package said that will attract cardinals, "premium birds." The cardinals have been around but so has this overweight squirrel. He has managed to get past the cone-shaped deterrent (I even put grease on it) by leaping from the nearby tree. It is about 7 or 8 feet away so he only makes it about every 5th attempt. Here is an Artist's Rendition: (note Enriching and Educational activity of drawing) So Jeffrey and I went to the store and bought a special feeder for the squirrel, it is this corn-cob shaped thing that goes into a spiral holder. The squirrel went up there and licked it and then continued to go for the bird's food. So then the activity is to scare him off of there. We have a new-year's eve horn that is good for a startling loud noise, and Jeffrey has tried throwing snowballs and even got out his super-soaker water gun. But sometimes he just goes out on the deck and makes a sound that he thought of to scare the thing away (think tasmanian devil cartoon) But then yesterday a giant red-tailed hawk landed on one of the tall trees back there, and was eyeing the squirrel. By now we had grown kind of fond of the persistent little guy, and didn't want to watch him get snatched. So now we know that big bold hawks go away when little boys make tasmanian devil cartoon noises too. phew.