Where have all the squirrels gone?

Where have all the squirrels gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the squirrels gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the squirrels gone?

... and so the lyrics go to this made up song (the tune is Where have all the flowers gone, by Pete Seger) in my head every time I walk out the back door into my yard. 

                             

I first asked myself the question about the missing squirrels two weeks ago when I set out to experience the freedom that comes from walking without any foot coverings and without a care in the world (I do occasionally have such moments). The acorns bit into my feet mercilessly with each unprotected step.

I wondered at that... why have I never noticed acorns covering my yard like this before? We've lived here for 25 years. I don't remember trying to avoid so many acorns before. It then occurred to me that squirrels have been doing a good job keeping our yard acorn free. I had never realized how thorough they have been all these years... until this year.

The squirrels are slacking off. That was my first thought.

I looked up into the trees.  I wondered: I haven't seen very many squirrels lately. Where are they? Yeah (said with great suspicion), in fact, my dogs often chase them this time of year because the little furry acorn consumers are out and about gathering up the nuts. Now that I think of it, I haven't seen or heard Max nor Misty bark very much as they watch the yard from a perch on the chair in our living room. No, there haven't been very many squirrels at all.

In fact,if I rely on the measure of acorns to account for squirrel presence, possibly there are no squirrels visiting our yard. At all. Nada.

                                              

I imagine Max wondered where they are, too, as we walked around the woods surrounding the yard today.

And another thing. We have a beautiful cherry blossom tree... let me rephrase that: had. Here is how it looked back during Easter week of this year.

                            

It was full of pink cherry blossoms this spring, then it died suddenly, dropping all its leaves before summer was over.   

                             

My husband had pruned it back in the hope that it would return next spring, but it isn't looking good so far.

                                                

As my canine companions and I walked around the yard this afternoon, I took a few pictures of the changes, not only in the leaves of the trees, but in the overall view. I do this every year.

In much the same way I took photos of our son from the time he was born, I have been taking pictures of our home and yard, to lovingly document the changes through the seasons of each year, and to remember the days when we first built our home, moved in, and first began landscaping.

Like a growing child, our yard has been transformed by our attempts to find something we can maintain.

When we first moved in, we were ambitious, and planted all sorts of trees, shrubbery, and smaller plants. We soon discerned that some plants loved the sun and others loved the shade. When we became aware that our yard was a shade yard, we began looking for plants that would thrive with less sunlight. Then we discovered our soil was acid, so we had to neutralize it from time to time. We've had vegetable gardens in our yard, but mostly we've grown and nurtured perennials, and some annuals.

Hostas have been a successful favorite in our yard, and azaleas, rhododendrons, crepe myrtle, and dogwoods. There was a time when our front yard looked like a jungle for all the hostas, yuccas, and philodendrons we had growing. In the winter, we'd bring philodendrons into the house ... they grew so big I had to give them away to someone with more space in their home.

Over the years, we have downsized the yard, planting less. Several years after we moved into our home, Steve's thoughts turned to his love for fish. With the pond he built in the front yard came cattails, water lilies,lotus, and other water/bog plants. That pond was part of our yard/life for fifteen years.

The time finally came when we had to downsize. The work to maintain it was beginning to strain and stress him. It's been over a year since it's removal... he filled it in, himself, with a shovel... the koi were relocated to a larger pond a few miles down the road. There are very few plants  left for us to maintain. Mostly just grass, a few hostas, a few azaleas, and the hardwoods growing around us.

It's a good thing, too, since this year has seen near drought-level rainfall... not much... not enough to make a difference.  I don't know how we could have kept our pond up in a low water season/year like this one. Many of our trees are dying. We haven't tried to water them due to concerns for water levels. I think it's a shared concern in much of the Southeastern United States.

Where have all the squirrels gone this year? Could they be living closer to the river? A year ago we had a water source in our yard, the pond. Perhaps they need to stay close to water as well. I thought little critters got their water supply from dew on the grass, but I can tell you, even in the mornings I have seen very little dew.

Yeah, I'm thinking they've moved closer to the river behind our property, about a half mile away actually.

Then there's the  article I read in the Kids National Geographic magazine that came in the mail yesterday. Coyotes are moving closer to the city, it reported. They are about the size of a small German Shepherd, they walk around, hunting at night, and laying low during the day.

My friend and neighbor called me last week and described the yip of pups and the howl of an adult coyote close to her house. She said it sounded like they (possibly a mother and her pups) were walking toward my end of the street. It's possible they are living in our neighborhood.

Coyotes prey on squirrel... don't they? Well, any that come down from the trees after dark. If any would do that. Maybe that's where some of the squirrels have gone.....?

...and maybe I need to keep a closer eye on my dogs at night.

Tags: missing squirrels, acorns, coyotes moving in, dying cherry blossom tree