So, Tim has been feeding peanuts to a squirrel all winter. Then my dear blogging friend Linda suggested he try feeding them walnuts. On our next trip to the grocery store we looked in vain for walnuts. Tim asked the produce guy about it and he said they only had walnuts at Christmas time. Undaunted, Tim then found someone selling walnuts on Etsy, of all places. He also did some research and learned that walnuts are better nutrition than peanuts for for squirrels. Soon, the order arrived and four walnuts were put out on the balcony. It wasn’t long before they were discovered. This guy made quick work of his prize, sitting on the railing and in the sunshine. Lucky photo op through the sliding glass doors for me!
This morning Tim tried rolling a walnut towards the squirrel and it accepted the delivery without running away. I’m sorry I missed it!
What a nice story. These are such cute squirrels.
Thank you, Peggy. They’re very entertaining to watch. 🙂
Hooray to Tim 🙂
Tim’s having lots of fun with his furry friends. 🙂
Boy, your squirrels get DEE-LUX treatment! 😉
I was surprised by the amount of effort Tim put into finding these special treats! 🙂
At Christmastime I buy bags of mixed nuts in the shell to use as decorations surrounding candles, then after the holidays I dump the nuts outside under a bush where I can see the pile and watch as the squirrels feast. They LOVE walnuts, but oddly enough pecans are never that popular.
What a great idea! That must be fun to watch. Squirrels must have very strong, sharp teeth. It’s amazing how quickly they open the hard shells and devour the contents. I was lucky to get a picture of this one eating because now they’ve taken to putting the walnuts in their mouths and taking them out of sight to eat.
Wonderful! The squirrel got great nutrition, you got some fine photos and free entertainment, and we get to enjoy it, too. Wins all around!
Glad you enjoyed the photos, Debbie! I suspect the squirrels’ new best friend will be ordering more walnuts very soon. 🙂
They are so entertaining, enjoy your backyard buddy!
Thank you, Donna! Now we’re watching them carry the walnuts away to parts unknown…
Oh Barbara – I am so sorry it took so long to get to this post! I am glad the suggestion of walnuts made your little squirrel’s day and made you and Tim’s day as well. What a cutie pie. It was hungry since it didn’t try to squirrel any of the walnuts away in its nest. I hope you are there for the next time Tim does “walnut bowling” as you’ll get another cute picture. I like walnut bowling for the smaller squirrels especially, as they are less wary in Winter when natural pickings are slim, but enjoy seeing their walnut coming toward them, spoiled like little princes and princesses that they are. 🙂
No worries, Linda! You have been so inundated with weather problems! I guess the squirrel (or squirrels?) isn’t as hungry any more because he’s taking the walnuts away now. Just grab and go. But that’s okay, we’re enjoying our quick little glimpses of him. The blue jays look at us as if we’re crazy for putting out something they won’t eat. But we still give them and the adorable little titmice shelled peanuts. It’s funny. Tim actually got a squirrel to take a peanut from his hand, but now that the walnuts have come into play they don’t want to get too close to his hand any more.
I know we all used to get tired of Winter by mid-March back when we had more normal Winters. I feel like now we are hopscotching from one weather event to another – Friday with the snow again, yesterday they said residual snow and freeze-ups so be careful and I’ll be grounded again tomorrow with more snow to shovel. Yes, those blue jays want you to return to peanuts – they are probably mad. 🙂 Those titmice are so cute. Some of Jocelyn’s photos, like today’s of that titmouse … are just so cute. I’m torn between whether they or the chickadees are cuter. I wonder if your squirrels (or squirrels) are scared as the walnuts are so much bigger than a peanut in Tim’s hand. To you and me, it wouldn’t seem that different than a couple of peanuts, but to a squirrel maybe it seems like all one big object (hand and walnut). Have Tim try holding the walnut between his fingers. I’ve never fed squirrels from my hand, though I will take the longer in-shell peanuts and hold one end and they’ll take them. I’m braver when I have gloves on.
I meant to add that my grocery store only sells bagged mixed nuts for use with nutcrackers at Christmastime, so I have to order from Amazon to get any. Lots of protein for our furry friends to get through the Winter.
Ah, I see. Good to know! I wonder how Tim found them on Etsy. He probably wanted to give someone else besides Amazon his business…
Yes, Amazon is way too easy – hop on, find anything right away, click and done. I think there is a produce market about ten miles from me that sells loose nuts of every variety all year around, but I understand they are always crowded, so I do this so it’s safer. Someone at Elizabeth Park told me to buy my peanuts there in bulk.