June is here. Daylight is almost at its longest and the rays of sun are starting to flicker hot on my exposed skin. The garden is finally starting to look “full” and the first blossoms of Peonies are exposing their ruffled blossoms. Ahhhh, Summer is almost here.
What else appears in June? Strawberries! As well as the greedy, grubby-pawed nemesis of the perfectly ripe berry – squirrels.
In the decade+ I’ve lived in my home outside of Seattle I’ve seen both the plant life and wildlife make a grand come back. What was once a barren, blackberry-infested and trash filled “yard” next to my house is now a beautifully managed garden, terraced lawn and gently maintained ravine that slopes down to a meandering creek. In all the chaos of this very urbanized suburbia, this outside space is my respite.
Along with a variety of native vegetation (both intentionally planted and volunteers) the wildlife has returned too. Just yesterday I spotted for the first time ever bunny rabbits (that will have to be a story for another time). They join a chorus of birds including finches, thrushes, flickers, chickadees, wrens and more that now visit regularly. Insects have returned too. Including a dizzying array of pollinators and even a few species of butterflies.
One animal that has always been here, however, is squirrels – along with their partners in garden crime, robins. But back to the squirrels. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with them. One moment they are adorable furry woodland creatures playing recklessly in the maples. In another moment they are rats with fur, marauding my garden seemingly without a single shred of remorse.
In June squirrels are definitely more foe than friend. Why? Because in June the berries appear. Along with a mini army of hungry squirrels. If they had their way, not a single berry would be allowed to ripen fully. As soon as a fruit dares to flash a little red flesh, the squirrels target and destroy.
Today, as I sat working on my computer I heard “chatter” and turned around to look out my office window. One squirrel was apparently yelling at her little buddy squirrel – who had plopped herself down right in the middle of one of my strawberry planters (I have about 8 planters on supports about 2 feet from the ground) and was trying with all her might to extract a nearly-ripened berry. There was just one problem. The bird netting that cloaked the entire row.
It was as comical as it sounds: said squirrel sitting on top of a strawberry plant, strawberry in hand, and tugging away over and over again to no avail. Her friend down below seemed to be chattering “what the hell is taking so long??? Grab that berry and let’s go!”.
Without much thought I dashed outside, crept along the fence and sprang out, arms waving feverishly in the air, to scare off the little buggers. The squirrels made a beeline for the thicket that denotes the end of our property, before stopping about a foot out of arms reach and turning around to give me a piece of her mind. ChtchtchtCHTrrrrack! (I don’t know how to spell in squirrel talk).
For now my strawberries are safe. But I know the reality of this situation. This is just the beginning of the war.