backyard wildlife

Mockingbirds, Cardinals, and One Very Polite Squirrel Are Eating All My Figs

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My fig tree is bursting with fruit. I thought I’d be the one harvesting—turns out I’m just managing a wildlife buffet.

I have a beautiful, large fig tree in my yard. This year it is filled with figs. The figs are starting to turn ripe. I love fresh figs so you might think I am really excited to go out and make my harvest each day. Well, there are other living creatures just as excited about my figs as I am. The Mockingbirds and cardinals show up. They’re dainty eaters. They’ll peck at a fig as if they’re looking for one with the perfect taste. I didn’t know they had such discerning palettes.  Yesterday I saw another creature who decided to come to the fig banquet. It was a squirrel. He was sitting on a branch in my fig tree with a fig in between his two paws and eating it as if he were in a five star diner. I didn’t bother scaring him away, and I don’t bother the mockingbirds or the cardinals either. First come first serve is what I say. And in this case, it’s the mockingbirds, cardinals and squirrels are winning. I’m hoping they’re kind enough to leave me a few. So far, I have been able to find two or three figs each day that they haven’t found. I’m hoping my luck continues.

🤔 3 Figgy Questions to Ponder:

  1. Have you ever found unexpected joy in sharing nature’s bounty with wildlife?
  2. How do you decide when to defend your garden vs. enjoy the spectacle?
  3. What does it say about us when we choose generosity over control—even with squirrels?

The Great Squirrel Conspiracy: Feathered Friends, Fuzzy Freeloaders, and a Backyard Soap Opera

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When bird feeders become squirrel buffets, and your fence turns into a squirrel speedway, who’s really winning? Discover how a neighborhood turned backyard chaos into unexpected joy.

The neighbors on both sides of my home, one on the east and one on the west, each have huge bird feeders. Their bird feeders are, in reality, squirrel feeders. The squirrels use my fence as a super highway going back-and-forth between the 2 yards. I’ve never seen the squirrels look fatter or healthier. I thought they outsmarted my neighbors. I spoke to one of my neighbors and he told me he enjoys watching the squirrels and he doesn’t mind feeding them. So little do the squirrels know they’re really working for their meal. They’re entertaining an older guy and his wife with their silly antics over fighting who gets to the feeder first. Sounds like a win-win to me. We need more of that in this world.

Questions:

  1. Are the squirrels freeloading geniuses or just fluffy little entertainers being paid in sunflower seeds?
  2. Who’s the real boss of your backyard—you, your neighbor, or the chunky squirrel with attitude?
  3. If a squirrel runs laps on your fence every morning, does that count as shared custody?

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