Friday, April 15, 2011

Chair Cushion and Flower Mystery Solved

I wondered why this Hibiscus plant always has lots of new flower buds but never flowers!  Riddle solved.


This winter Fort Worth had some pretty cold days.  On one such day I went out to our patio and immediately knew something was not quite right.  I looked at my patio furniture and realized that something had eaten the fabric on my pillows and had left the "pillow stuffing" hanging out of them.  Fortunately the culprit seemed to like shredding the throw pillows and only ripped small holes in one large chair cushion.  I immediately thought that this was probably the handiwork (or mouth work) of squirrels. I got to thinking that surely squirrels don't eat fiberfill, so what were they doing?  I knew that I'd been nice to them, kept water in the bird bath, etc., so surely they couldn't be trying to get back at me. (A friend in Tulsa believes that squirrels tore up her outdoor cushions because they were mad that she replaced the bird feeder, at which they dined daily, with one that was squirrel proof!)

So why would they tear up my pillows?  Well the little baby above tells the story.  I believe the weather was so cold that Momma Squirrel was just looking for a little insulation for this baby's nest.  There's actually two little baby squirrels running around my yard these days.

I was irritated at the damage earlier - I think I'm over it now.  Next year I'll just take the pillows in the house and leave some fiberfill for the squirrels if it gets really cold.  I'm a "nester" myself so how can I fault them? They were just trying to make their home a little nicer.

Have a great weekend!

Au revoir, Mitty




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