My Garden

Red-spotted Purple

2007-07-08T21:45:00.000-04:00

Beth found this lovely butterfly in our front yard this afternoon and I managed to grab the camera quickly enough for a picture. The rough part was identifing it! Our National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies book does not have it, I found that rather surprising considering the internet seems to think it is very common.

I have a chipmunk once again! :)

2007-07-03T12:44:00.000-04:00

Sabbath Afternoon in the Garden

2007-06-30T22:24:00.000-04:00

My hydrangea is finally blooming. I think it is supposed to be blue. We shall see. :)

Shasta Daisy

Sunflower

Sunflower

Sempervivum blooming

Sempervivum blooming

Flower and Bird Pictures

2007-06-17T23:53:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy lately it has been hard to find time to blog. I have been taking lots of pictures though. Here is a link to a photo album of some of them or you can just watch it here (although they will be bigger if you click on it.)

Unfolding After the Storm

2007-04-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

English Daisy

Close-up Dove

2007-04-09T18:40:00.000-04:00

Mourning Dove

Pansies

2007-04-09T17:25:00.000-04:00

Hyacinth

2007-04-09T17:23:00.000-04:00

Muffin

2007-04-09T17:22:00.000-04:00

Even Muffin is not safe from my macro lens. (hee hee)

Daffodil

2007-04-09T17:05:00.000-04:00

More Crocus

2007-03-22T17:17:00.000-04:00

Snow Birds

2007-03-17T20:42:00.000-04:00

Dark-eyed Junco

Song Sparrow

A Sudden Bit of Cold Weather

2007-03-16T22:55:00.000-04:00

Moss

2007-03-15T11:44:00.000-04:00

Crocus

2007-03-13T22:02:00.000-04:00

Sempervivum

2007-03-13T21:54:00.002-04:00

A bit of color from inside the house

2007-03-02T23:11:00.000-05:00

African Violet

Little Black Squirrel

2007-02-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

White-throated Sparrow

2007-02-22T23:10:00.000-05:00

I took these pictures with my new camera. . . through the triple paned window in the back door.

White-throated Sparrow

The First Snow of the Year

2007-01-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

A Young Red-shouldered Hawk Visits

2006-12-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

This morning an immature red-shouldered hawk perched on our neighbor's fence for about five minutes while it did a bit of grooming. I was glad that Muffin had already had her breakfast and made herself scarce.

Grammy's Quail

2006-12-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

Grammy had fed the squirrels and quail at her home in Spokane, Washington for a number of years. It was very difficult to get a picture of them, they were very nervous, and would run off at the slightest sound.

A short quail movie.

Friendly Squirrel Brings a Guest to Supper

2006-11-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

This crazy squirrel has no fear. She would walk right inside our house if we let her. Of course she has no idea how big a disaster that would be - we have six cats.

I have had a few challenges while I have been finishing the back door we just installed. This friendly squirrel, hence forth called Muffin, has been wanting peanuts as payment for staying out of the house and out of my way, and all the cats have been trying to get past me to get Muffin.

After about twenty minutes of this she ran off only to return a few minutes later with an old friend, my little blind squirrel! I hadn't seen this squirrel in a couple years! I was so glad to see him again. He used to be a garden regular, but disappeared about the same time Sammy did. Muffin really was leading him to my yard. She would stop every few moments and make sure Blinkin was following her. Several times Blinkin, who was actually following quite closely, nearly ran into her.

Muffin (left) and Blinkin (right) making tracks to the food.

The blind squirrel, Blinkin, which is actually only blind in his right eye, probably got hurt by the same hawk that was messing with my squirrels and birds back in 2004. The original injury extended from just below his eye, across it, and nearly up to his ear. It looked awful, and I was afraid he would not only loose the eye, but might develop an infection and die, but he didn't. Week after week he came back for food and treats. His wound healed completely and his eye turned white, but he did not loose it.

After Muffin directed Blinkin to the top of the shed where I had placed a bunch of treats, Muffin ran off and hunkered down in a nearby tree to keep watch while Blinkin ate his fill. The little rascal seemed to remember me, and didn't mind that I got rather close to take the picture.

Of course no squirrel encounter would be complete without this fellow showing up for dessert. :-)

My Little Black Squirrel

2006-11-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

When I saw this squirrel sitting on the shed this morning I set out some peanuts for him. The peanuts were gratefully recieved, so I set out a small portion of sunflower seeds. This seemed to make him pretty happy. :)

Violets in October?!

2006-10-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

The First Frost of the Year

2006-10-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

Yea! :)

Virginia Creeper

2006-10-08T17:56:00.000-04:00

Fall Roses

2006-10-08T17:55:00.000-04:00

Sedum's Changing Color

2006-10-08T17:40:00.000-04:00

Compare this to the previous picture I took about three weeks ago.

Sedum with Honey Bee

2006-09-19T20:59:00.000-04:00

My "New" Squirrel

2006-09-19T20:01:00.000-04:00

I have been coxing this little squirrel into the backyard over the last few weeks. I think she finally feels fairly at home. I feel bad that I can't leave food out all the time for her, but she seems to understand that once I see her some will appear. She is very playful, and I have ofter seen her picking up twigs and throwing them in the air and tackling them. She loves to chew on mulch too.

Of Squirrels, Seeds, and Hope

2006-08-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

I was thinking just a few weeks ago how sad it was that, for the first time since we moved here, I hadn't planted any sunflowers. I guess I haven't really had my heart in gardening this year. Everything is overgrown and untended. I think part of the problem is that for the last few months I haven't been putting out food for the birds and squirrels so as to discourage neighborhood pests (at the request of a neighbor). The backyard just doesn't seem the same without the daily visits of the birds and my squirrel friends. I knew each of my squirrels. They had personalities, likes, dislikes, habits. I must admit I still sneak out a small handful of sunflower seeds or peanuts when I see a squirrel sitting out there looking for them, but they don't come by very often anymore. I looked out the window the other day and realized that one of my dear little squirrels planted a present for me; so I have my sunflower after all. It doesn't make up for the lack of birds and squirrels, but it does make me want to spend some time puttering around out there putting things to rights.

The Bouquet Before the Storm

2006-06-05T19:16:00.000-04:00

I cut these real quick as the sky clouded over. I'm glad I did, it ended up raining most of the week after that.

Yellow Iris

2006-06-03T12:02:00.000-04:00

There have been a few bedraggled irises in the corner of our front yard that never gets any sun. They have been there since we bought the house five years ago and they have never bloomed. This year they finally did. I was pleasantly surprised to find they were yellow. The sun was shining through the trees directly on the blooms in this picture.

It only took four and a half years!

2006-05-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

The white peony I planted when we first moved in to this house has finally bloomed.

Spring Flowers

2006-05-17T10:33:00.000-04:00

Columbine

Bearded Iris

The First Blooms of Spring

2006-03-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

They're Calling it "The Big Snow of '06"

2006-02-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

This was a wonderfully sticky snow storm. At about 9:00 Saturday night I shot this picture of the snow clinging to the curly cues of the feeder hook.

Sunday morning was beautifully sparkly. Notice that the one of the lamps is completely covered with snow, and the other one was knocked over. (compare to the picture above)

The ruler shows 12 inches!!

A snowy tree in our front yard.

The front walk.

Many Happy Returns

2006-01-20T17:49:00.000-05:00

I have been very happy this week because squirrels and woodpeckers have finally returned to my garden. I hadn't seen any in months. Then all of the sudden one day, the back yard was back to normal. There was a squirrel hanging upside down from the bird feeder, a downy woodpecker on the suet block, and a host of chick-a-dees in the trumpet vine. The last few months had seemed quite lonely without them.

Another strange thing happened this week. The tree in the front yard was filled with robins and cedar wax wings. I hadn't seen cedar wax wings since we had moved to Maryland, but there were at about five of them in the tree, and a least 20 robins.

Fall Birds Arrived Today

2005-10-28T12:33:00.000-04:00

All at once the backyard is full of seasonal treats. Today we suddenly have Carolina wrens, cardinals, song sparrows, junkos, and house finches. I don't know why the house finches didn't stick around this summer, I thought they had last year.

Praying Mantis on Sedum

2005-10-20T11:56:00.000-04:00

Groundhog Update

2005-09-22T18:16:00.000-04:00

Well, after a wonderful week of daily groundhog visits, we have now had a week of no visits. The backyard seems a much emptier place. My neighbors are happy, but I am sad.

I Have a Groundhog in My Backyard!

2005-09-07T14:07:00.000-04:00

This last Saturday evening I looked out the kitchen window and was amazed to see a small groundhog on the porch! My squeel of delight startled him and he waddled off the porch to the saftey of the concrete area by the back gate. We watched him happily munching away at the millet and sunflower seedlings near the squirrel... I mean bird feeder. :)

Sunday we set out some carrots and water for him, and although we didn't see who took them we set more out the next day in hopes that it had been him. Every day since then we have set some out, and everyday they get eaten. Today we finally happened to look out the window at the right time and watched him munching away at the treat. (He still hasn't eaten the celery I added this morning.)

My Scaredy-Squirrel

2005-09-07T11:02:00.000-04:00

This poor little squirrel is very timid. I think that if it were not for the fact that she appears to be trying to feed a nest full of babies, I never would have gotten this close to her to get this shot. She and her counter part male scaredy-squirrel, have a habit of wrapping themselves around rocks, branches, and even the ground when they get frightened. They don't just freeze, they melt into what ever they are on. They also are often seen eating in this position. Interestingly, these two are just about the only squirrels I have coming to the backyard right now that have thier full tails and no scar tissue.

Purple Coneflower with Bee

2005-07-23T21:30:00.000-04:00

Of Squirrels and Sunflowers

2005-07-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up bright and early knowing that the feeder would be empty. I always like to get out quickly in the morning to fill it before the squirrels start arriving. Birds are in and out of the back yard all day long, but the squirrels are usually only around in the morning and evening. I hate the thought of them braving the nearby streets, dogs, hawks, and other hazards to get here only to find feeder empty.

So, this morning I made my way out there early to take care of them. Three of them had beat me to it though. They sat on the fence staring at me while I made my way gently to the shed, trying hard not to scare them off. I had to open a new bag of sunflower seeds and that made a bit of noise. A black squirrel I had never seen before dove into the trumpet vine, but the other two didn't move. I finally managed to fill the seed bowl and put the bag of seeds back in the shed. I closed the shed and turned around.

The black squirrel had come out of the trumpet vine and was sitting on the part of the fence nearest me watching me very closely. I noticed that she had a lot of scarring on one of her rear legs, front shoulders and forehead. She also had only half a tail... My first thought was to wonder if it was Sammy. I suppose it probably wasn't, but Sammy had been headed into a dark phase last winter when she dropped out of sight. The scar tissue could explain why she hasn't been around. I don't know, it probably wasn't her, I just can't keep hoping she is still alive out there somewhere.

In the mean time, one of the other squirrels had wasted no time making its way down off the fence and was munching seeds as fast as he could. The other squirrels were more cautious but eventually made their way down to the food bowl while I stood there.

The crowning moment (unless that really was Sammy) was when, with squirrels at my feet, I looked up for a moment, and there, not three feet from me was a hummingbird! :) He was looking right at me as if to say, "My feeder needs filling too!" Of course I went right inside and filled it up, and got it back out there as quickly as I could. Fortunately by this time the squirrels were figuring out that the seeds were tasty and it wasn't worth scampering off just because I came outside.

The really funny bit happened after I came back inside. I looked out the window to see how everyone was doing, and one of the squirrles had high tailed it to the top of the tallest sunflower. He sat there swaying slightly looking around.

I thought he had done it to get to the sunflower seeds since by this time the feeder was getting crowded, but his real goal was to check out what the hummingbird feeder was. He climbed back down the sunflower, across the the black hanger to where the feeder was took a quick sniff and raced back up to the top. He took a flying leap across to the trumpet vine, which in a bungee jumping like manuver dipped way down and swung him back up.

This is a picture of the black squirrel a little later in the morning.

The Flowers of Summer

2005-07-19T15:58:00.000-04:00

If one is going to discuss the flowers of summer, I suppose the best place to start is sunflowers. I planted twelve "Mammoth" sunflower seeds this spring, but only one of them seems to have made it. I have about five others that I allowed to grow, but they are most certainly ones my helpful squirrel friends planted for me.

One such plant had at least 16 blooms on it!

These poor giants have had a rough season, we had some 1/2 inch hail several weeks ago which left large holes in the leaves.

The squirrels planted this little sunflower.

My coneflowers are back, and seem to be doing very well this year. :)

I have even had a surprise this summer. My succulents have begun blooming!

Titmouse

2005-07-15T18:57:00.000-04:00

I just saw a titmouse in the backyard! When we lived in Georgia we had tons of these at our feeder, but I have seen hardly any since moving to Maryland.

Spring Flowers

2005-06-08T16:41:00.000-04:00

A bit late this year perhaps, but spring has definately arrived! It seems like it has transformed overnight into it's early summer lushness.

The first roses and peonies from my garden this year.

Some of the roses are quite large.

Peony

Rhododendron

Azeleas

Clematis

Sunflower

The Front Yard

2005-05-19T16:57:00.000-04:00

The kids and I have been putting a lot of work into the front yard this year. They have helped me dig up and find rocks to put around the base of our tree, and have helped to plant grass seed.

I can't figure out why the roses in the front are blooming so much earlier than the ones out back. It is very dark in the front yard, I would think that they would lag behind. At any rate they are doing better than they have ever done since we moved in here four years ago.

My Allium is Blooming - Day 9

2005-05-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

My Allium is Blooming - Day 8

2005-05-12T16:25:00.000-04:00

My Allium is Blooming - Day 7

2005-05-11T16:23:00.000-04:00

My Allium is Blooming - Day 6

2005-05-10T16:23:00.000-04:00

My Allium is Blooming - Day 5

2005-05-09T16:08:00.000-04:00

Sea Thrift - Spring Time Poofs!

2005-05-08T11:13:00.000-04:00

My Allium is Blooming - Day 4

2005-05-08T11:01:00.000-04:00

William took the pictures for me today. He got my traditional shot,

and also this other which shows off the bloom much better. :) Thank you my son!

My Allium is Blooming - Day 3

2005-05-07T10:59:00.000-04:00

Last Year's Pansies

2005-05-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

Not only did my pansies make it through the winter, they are thriving!

My Allium is Blooming - Day 2

2005-05-06T10:58:00.000-04:00

My Allium is Blooming - Day 1

2005-05-05T10:44:00.000-04:00

Weekly Plant Update

2005-05-04T10:34:00.000-04:00

Peonies Week 6:

Big peony.

Strawberries Week 8:

Sedum Week 10:

Tulips

2005-04-28T11:04:00.000-04:00

This bouquet is made up of tulips from my garden.

Weekly Plant Update

2005-04-27T09:58:00.000-04:00

Peonies Week 5:

Big peony.

Strawberries Week 7:

Weekly Plant Update

2005-04-20T09:50:00.000-04:00

Peonies Week 4:

Big peony.

Strawberries Week 6:
We just got back from spending the last five days in Chicago. Temperatures were in the 80s while we were gone, and it didn't rain. The strawberries got burnt. I hope they survive.

Weekly Plant Update

2005-04-12T08:39:00.000-04:00

Peonies Week 3:

This is my big peony.

Strawberries Week 5:

Coneflower Week 1:

Coneflower

2005-04-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

I think that my coneflower has made it through the winter! The ground is very muddy today so I couldn't get close enough to see very well, but I think I saw some new growth just beginning to appear. :)

Finches

2005-04-08T11:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had a male and a female goldfinch on the thistle sock. Today the male and female house finch made a reapearance at the sunflower seed feeder.

Weekly Plant update

2005-04-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Peonies Week 2:

This is my big peony that actually bloomed last year. I'm not sure why it is coming up later than the little one, but I am glad to see it making an appearance. :)

Strawberries Week 4:

Sedum Week 6:

Spring Visitor

2005-04-04T21:57:00.000-04:00

The first bee of spring.

Weekly Plant update

2005-03-30T12:36:00.000-05:00

Peony: Week 1

Strawberry Plants: Week 3

Sedum, "Autumn Joy" (with crocus): Week 5
Yes I finally figured out what it is called. :)

More Crocus

2005-03-23T14:26:00.000-05:00

It's Growing...

2005-03-23T14:18:00.000-05:00

What ever it is. :)

This is what it looked like at the beginning of the month.

Strawberry Plants: Week 2

2005-03-22T14:38:00.000-05:00

I planted three little strawberry plants a week ago. They are now showing green leaves.

Hail

2005-03-20T15:37:00.000-05:00

We just had a little hail storm blow through. It dropped 1/8 inch hail for about 5 minutes.

The First Blooms of Spring!

2005-03-20T15:30:00.000-05:00

Crocus and Succulent

Daffodil

The Weather

2005-03-08T11:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it was 70 degrees outside! That is amazing enough in March, but this morning a cold front moved in and has dropped three inches of snow! It is currently 26 degrees out.

Bird updates

2005-03-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

We have Downy Woodpeckers and House Finches again. :) They were probably thinking that they came back a bit early, we had a lot of snow yesterday. We also had a Mocking Bird at the seed block feeder today more than once.

A Thaw Between Snows

2005-03-01T19:44:00.000-05:00

I noticed this new growth a couple days ago.

Observations on a Snowy Day: #4

2005-02-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

Most of the squirrels and birds had taken cover by the time the snow really started coming down hard, but this little guy was determined not to miss out on his breakfast.

Observations on a Snowy Day: #3

2005-02-24T18:38:00.000-05:00

Have you ever really looked at snowflakes? Usually they are just a fluffy mass of white, or sometimes little bitty snowballs. I have always thought it was rather sad that you have to look under a microscope to see their wonderful six-sidedness. Today however, the snowflakes looked like snowflakes!

Click on this picture to see it close up. Really look at it. :)

Observations on a Snowy Day: #2

2005-02-24T17:38:00.000-05:00

A young cardinal seems to have taken up residence in the back
yard. I saw him for the first time yesterday sleeping in the food
bowl, sleeping under the rose bushes, and sleeping in the trumpet vine.
This morning when I looked outside very early he was curled up on the
frozen, snowy surface of the copper bird bath which is on the fence. I
hope he's ok.

Observations on a Snowy Day: #1

2005-02-24T07:25:00.000-05:00

I have always noticed that our squirrels seem to be very nervous about
walking on new snow, but this was the first time I have noticed them
using the little stone divider, that separates the roses from the rest
of the garden, as a highway.

Lucky

2005-02-15T14:20:00.000-05:00

This is a new squirrel to the back yard, it is too gray to be Sable, and it isn't dark enough to be our black squirrel. At some point it looks to have had a run in with a cat or hawk because there is some major scaring on its back. It has already learned not to run off when I go out to the shed to get the seed for the feeders. :)

Poofs! ~ and other snowy things that make me smile :)

2005-02-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

It is very difficult to put into words how bouncy I feel when I see things like huge snowflakes falling from the sky, cottony azalea bushes, or snow melting in strange and wonderful ways. Spring will be beautiful in its time, but for now I will rejoice in the glories of winter.

Poofy snowflakes.

A poofy azalea bush.

A mixture of squirrel tracks, and the holes made by melting snow dripping off of the branches of the tree.

Small stones warming in the afternoon sun.

He's Back!!!

2005-02-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

I guess this squirrel must want food pretty badly because he's back! :)

Black Squirrel has a Scary Day

2005-02-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

We have been so happy to have our black squirrel back, but I'm not sure how long he will stay around if he has many more days like today. The morning started off with a Red-shoulderd Hawk swooping in to disturb his breakfast. The hawk didn't stay long, (and didn't actually hurt anything) but things were definately tense for a while. When things began to calm down, the squirrel made his way to a sunny spot on the fence to rest a bit... Funny, I just realized that this is the same spot where the hawk had come to roost just a few minutes before.

Just a few minutes after I took this picture, the neighbor's Jack Russell came racing outside barking and jumping at the squirrel. The poor little thing nearly fell the wrong way off the fence (ie, towards the dog), then scampered rapidly away.

Black squirrel returns!

2005-01-30T20:07:00.000-05:00

It had been weeks since I had seen a black squirrel. But this morning, after dropping William and Beth off at the barn, Danny and I came home to find one at the feeder. :)

Snowy Plants

2005-01-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

My bulbs have been trying to come up since Christmas! Here are some daffodils poking through the snow. They are surrounded by bird tracks.

I didn't cover the succulents growing in my little rock garden this last fall, but they seem to be surviving.

Weekend Snow

2005-01-23T09:41:00.000-05:00

We didn't receive quite as much snow as the forcasts said we should, but it has still made everything quite pretty. Here are some before and after shots.

Saturday morning:

Sunday morning:

Snow Birds

2005-01-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's snows have brought two new visitors to the feeder in the
backyard, Song Sparrows, and White-throated Sparrows! I know that
these are relatively common birds, but this is the first time I have
ever seen them in my yard. We also seem to have at least six Juncos
now. :)

Birds in the First Snow of the Year

2005-01-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

Mourning Doves

Cardinals

Junco coming in to land.

Junco enjoying bread crumbs.

Junco in flight.

Missing Sammy

2005-01-19T17:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't seen Sammy since just before we left for Christmas vacation. Here is a picture that I managed to take of her in December. She had become quite used to taking the popcycle stick from my hand.

January 14, 2005 Sundown

2005-01-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

Red-shouldered Hawk

2004-11-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

I looked outside a few minutes ago expecting to see a hoard of squirrels and birds at the feeders, and was surprised to discover the garden completely empty. I looked around carefully because we have had a cat that hides back there from time to time hoping to catch birds. I soon discovered it wasn't a cat, but a huge red-shouldered hawk that was causing the panic. I sure hope Sammy, Sable, Snowbell, and the rest stay out of sight for a while!

For a better picture of what a red-shouldered hawk looks like, click here.

A New Squirrel

2004-11-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

We have a pale new visitor to the backyard. Here you can see how much lighter in color she is than a regular gray squirrel.

We have named her Snowbell. :)

Sammy Update

2004-11-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

It appears Sammy has made a full recovery. :) I have been treating her to special treats from time to time. One of her favorites is grits mixed with peanut butter and a little honey.

This is Sammy's "Hey! I'm here! Where are the goodies?" look. :)

Of course I had to do something about that. I gave her a popcycle stick with peanut butter on it. She loved it. :)

I am pretty sure now that she is phasing out of her black phase. I think these pictures show her to be lighter than she was a month ago.

Fall Cleaning, Garden Style

2004-11-15T06:13:00.001-05:00

I have been hard at work in my little garden lately. The hard frosts we have had over the last week or two have been killing the annuals, and as they die I have been digging them up. It looks very bare out there. I'll be glad when I have a free afternoon and can plant the bulbs I have gotten (tulips, alliums, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus) into the ground and then I can mulch everything, and it should look a bit better. Mulch makes everything look better. {laugh} Although, I suppose I wouldn't like it in my living room.

The birds and squirrels have been storing up on seeds at an alarming rate. It also seems that they have set aside their petty quarrels and sit side by side stuffing as many seeds in their little mouths as they can.

The bird bath has been frozen solid the last several mornings. The sparrows go skating around and pecking hopelessly at the icy surface until I take a hot glass of water out to melt it. Then they descend in droves and drink their fill.

I planted some fall grass seed in the front yard two or three weeks ago. It is making great progress, being now about three inches high.

My New Blankets

2004-10-28T15:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, this has absolutely nothing to do with my garden, but I have to write about it anyways {big grin}. Danny and the kids got me three new blankets this last week. They are marvelously soft. Two of them are blue, twin sized. We got them for curling up on the couch. The other one is a full sized, green that is similar in tone to the background color of this blog. I love it! :)

Another Bungee Squirrel Feeder Update

2004-10-27T18:02:00.000-04:00

I raised the bell a few days ago. At this height, they have to either climb down the cord/chain to the bell, or jump for it. Up until this afternoon they had been cautious. Today a squirrel jumped up and grabbed on. He went swinging and bouncing. It was great! :) He clung on until it stopped swaying and then started eating.