Evening star., 1945-02-23
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,ueu.
ARLINGTON. Va.

Dear Sir:
L have enjoyed your column for a
long, long time, so thought perhaps you
would like to know about some of the
friends that visit our two feeding sta
tions and baths
Ihere is pair of redbirds that come
regularly for sunflower seeds. OF course.
the ruler is Pete, the smockingbird, on
hand for raisins, later to be joined by
the mate, then his arch enemies. the
blue jays and many, many casual callers.
1T won't be long until the catbirds
return. A pair come back each May
and Immediately to the window as if to
say Here we are
Recently there are the squirrels, since
there is no longer a dog to run them
away. One is black, Blackie as he has
been named, and after two days he
comes to the door for his peanuts and
walnuts, as soon as he hears it slam,
even before you can whistle.
There are at least half dozen gray
ones, but the funniest thing was this
rainy morning to see one of the squirrels
in the martin box, with only his head
out of the hole.
MY husband recently put large box
in the oak tree and the squirrels moved
in Immediately, just as though they were
newcomers to Washington and so
pleased at last to find home.
Sincerely, E. G.. NJ"
Squirrels naturally take to bird houses
Often boxes put up for blue birds and
gnaw out the entrance, and find the
interior much to their liking.
We know a doctor who thought that
cardinals might be induced to nest in
a box, SO he put up nice house No
sooner had he left the tree than
family of squirrels came down to in
'vestigate and liked the cardinal house"
so we'll that they moved in. The doctor
later found out that redbirds do not
nest in houses, but any way he had a
nice squirrel family.
These active rodents are always look
ing for places to come in out of the
cold in winter. They do not nest in hol-
low trees, as do the red squirrels, nor
do they lay up treasures of food in hol-
low trees. Their summer nests, socalled,
which look like gigantic bird nests offer
some shelter in the cold, but not much.
They are better than nothing, that is ALL
So our gray squirrels often work their
way into attics, or take up lodgings in
awnings which may be left up during
the winter. Too often they become
nuisances in such places, but it must
always be realized that they do not in
tend to be so. They simply are living
in the way that nature taught them,
and mean no harm, even when they
do it.
We know one family which had a
very expensive awning ripped to pieces
by the squirrels. No doubt they acci-
dentally tore it, and discovered it would
make excellent bedding if bitten into
pieces.
Often they get into attics, and there
cause a great deal of confusion, and
sometimes damage by their running
around spurred on by the warmth. Not
knowing anything about artificial heat,
they must think they have run onto
some new kind of summer, miraculously
separated from the winter by a few
boards
If such squirrels were human, and
possessed the ability of some of our
science-fiction writer's, they might write
stories about the rift between summer
and winter, and how one bold squirrel,
a pioneer, actually stepped across from
one season to another, and then came
back and led his family into the warmer
cline
Good-natured people never will be-
grudge squirred a bird house, even If
he has no business in It, Often such
family will give more pleasure to watch
ers than the birds. The thing to do
is to get into the good frame Of mind
OF our correspondent, and take what
comes with thanks. In this way, moth
ing Is lost, good accomplishment in
these times, when loss and ruin bog
down the human scale and makes us all,
at times, wish that there were q place
left where we. too, could step across q
sill from war world to . land Of peace
and plenty and human love.