Yesterday, I stopped by Uncle Bob’s to tell him about a fallen tree on the road to The Farm.  The wind blew the tree down and it was laying directly across the road.  Apparently I was the THIRD person to tell him, so he has been duly notified.  He’ll throw a chainsaw in the back of the truck the next time he heads over.

He was watching football on Tee Vee, but during a commercial break, he told me a funny story about my sunflowers.

Uncle Bob said he has observed squirrels climbing my sunflower stalks, many of which are over ten feet high.  He said the rodents will climb to the top of the sunflower and then start swinging the stalk back and forth until it snaps off.  When the sunflower head falls to the ground, the banquet begins with a small mob of squirrels devouring the sunflower seeds.

“It’s comical,” Uncle Bob said.

I’m sure it is.

One of my friends, Hilda Taylor, has long been involved in rescuing urban feral felines.  Recently, she’s added urban squirrels to the mix; she’s like St. Francis of Assisi. 

At home, we have a lot of oak trees and the squirrels take good care of themselves.  I’ve never seen one in a road splat nor have I seen one in need of rescue.  They’re quite a nuisance at my parents’ house, to be perfectly honest.  I’m glad I’ve been able to aid the well-being of the local squirrel population with my sunflowers.

It keeps Uncle Bob out of trouble and I’ve got one less thing to worry about.