The sign in front of the house read “Welcome Little Monsters” and seeing this sign gave me a chuckle because, just down the street, a squirrel was wreaking havoc with a harvest display – boy, would those homeowners be mad when they came home! They would not have to wonder what “little monster” had come trick-or-treating early, because the teeth marks, big bite out of the pumpkin and pulled-down cornstalk pointed to the obvious: a squirrel had come a’ callin’. Yes, this squirrel definitely did more damage and plundering than the other squirrel I wrote about in this post back in September.
In Canada, they use a British term … “little bugger” when describing someone who is mischievous. My parents sometimes called me a little bugger if I tried to do something I knew I wasn’t supposed to be doing. But, that someone doesn’t necessarily have to be a human either. It might be your dog, or your cat, even the backyard squirrel that tips your bird feeder upside down to rake the seeds to its mouth with one paw, by using its claws as a scoop.
So, whether you were labeled cheeky, a rascal, a hellion or a little bugger when you were young, likely that moniker was all in fun. Now this squirrel below was a first-class little bugger and I’ll show you why.
It was a beautiful day and I took the long way home from the Park. I was short on scarecrow and Halloween decorations pics to pepper throughout my Fall posts, so I thought I’d stroll through a different neighborhood and get some shots before the elements ravaged the harvest décor.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much harvest décor since I paused for about fifteen minutes to watch this Fox squirrel ravage this harvest display in record time.
As I neared the display, I saw a crow scarecrow and hoped I could get a close-up of it, so I stopped. I circled the display to get the best shot and the first thing I noticed was the chunk of pumpkin missing. Then I looked a little closer and saw the bushy tail hanging out of the cornstalk on the left side.
At the back of the display, while viewing the mischief that had transpired there, I was greeted with a steely gaze when the cornstalks rustled and a head suddenly popped out from between the dry leaves. Obviously I had distracted this squirrel from retrieving the Indian corn embedded in the cornstalk. [I wish some of the photos were not so dark, but there was a huge tree nearby.]
Thinking I was a force to be reckoned with (or I wanted some of the Indian corn for myself), he scrambled over to the other side, where he shot me a rather defiant look. Well it was déjà vu … a rambunctious squirrel, a crow scarecrow and pulling on the cornstalk to retrieve a cob of Indian corn. It was so similar to the other mischievous squirrel scenario, right down to the pained look on his face like “do you have a problem with me?”
I have to admit the pair was photogenic.
For a minute, I thought he was taking the high road by jumping off the cornstalk onto the ground, but that wasn’t his motive at all as you will see shortly.
I stepped a bit further back so I could take a picture of the other pot of white mums which went flying when he jumped off the cornstalk onto the bale of hay where the pot was sitting. Nice going!
The mischief-making was not over yet. He was ready to try the other side of the cornstalk for any Indian corn he might have missed.
But this time he could not scale the cornstalk using the hay bale, so he had to make a maneuver … could he make it and jump that high?
Well, he made it as you see below and I guess it is more enjoyable to eat your breakfast upside down hanging from your feet. I prefer to eat my oatmeal by sitting in a chair … just sayin’.
He scrambled around to reach all the Indian corn he could find and something tells me he was not about to leave until every last cob was eaten.
If anyone wonders who ate all the corn, I’m sure each of these corn-lovin’ guys would point at one another and say “he did it!”
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Great pics of a fun squirrel!
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Thanks Kate – that squirrel was on a mission to eat and destroy everything in its path.
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They all are, especially to eat!
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Cute!! What great pictures, Linda! I can believe how the squirrels mess with those Halloween displays! 🎃
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Thanks Sabine – glad you liked them. This squirrel was really a little devil at that display and the cornstalks in back were already sagging and pulling apart from his weight on them. I should have gone back the next day and checked out this place to see if the homeowners just took the entire display down. A few years ago I was walking down the street and saw a trio of black squirrels climbing all over this display on a homeowners’ porch – you can see them in this header pictures: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2016/11/01/sometimes-you-feel-like-a-nut/
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Well, I have to say that our West-coast squirrels seem to have better manners! At least the ones I’ve encountered. Lucky for you Linda that you have black squirrels in your area. 🙂
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I agree with you Sabine – our squirrels misappropriate everything for their own use and benefit! Those black squirrels are rambunctious in their own way – in that post, they believed in the adage of safety in numbers. On their own, they are timid. I got some cute black squirrel photos to use in an upcoming post, but I’ll give the squirrel posts a rest for a bit.
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Who knows if our squirrels would do the same if given a chance to destroy such a display! I think yes. Squirrels will be squirrels! 😂
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Wow! What great photos. You are a wonderful visual storyteller, Linda. It was a good think you had your camera along to document the “little bugger” at his mischief!
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Thank you Laurie – I am glad you liked these photos and the story too. The narrative was easy to do as I used these pictures in the same order of his ravaging the decorations … I was just shaking my head while watching him. After he initially saw me and figured I wasn’t going to shoo him away, he just stayed there, doing as he pleased. He was a resourceful “little bugger” and I hope he at least took some Indian corn home for the wife and kids.
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Fun photos. A bet this is a story repeated all over the midwest around this time of year.
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Thanks Ally – I am sure you are right. I’ve encountered it many times. I’ve even seen them biting the flower tops off the mums and eating them – they don’t like the leaves and stems, so they leave them next to the pot.
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Humorous photos and story! What a spunky little squirrel! Glad you were able to get these shots.
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Glad you got a kick out of this mischievous squirrel Rebecca. Once he realized I was only going to take his photo and not chase him off the display, he made himself quite at home, destroying everything he could get his paws and mouth on.
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You were in the right place at the right time. 🙂
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Miss Linda……………………..you probably could sell those close up pics of “Mr. Mischief” himself they are so adorable and seasonal appropriate……………….AND ………it was a gorgeous Fall day………………………..it just means you are a great photographer!
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Thank you Ann Marie – you are kind to say that and I just happened to be at the right place, at the right time, and that squirrel became a great subject. My favorite picture was him posing with the crow scarecrow. It was a beautiful Fall day and warm as well – what is coming down the pipeline does not fill me with much joy and you neither … I hope this prediction of very gusty winds, then snow showers and maybe light snow does not happen … fingers crossed for both of us.
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I have never seen a pumpkin eaten like that….I had to laugh! I guess they have to eat too. Those are fantastic pictures Linda!
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Thanks Diane – I knew when I saw him, if the pictures came out okay, it would be a fun post. With no one to shoo him away, or speak harshly to him, he thought he’d just stay there and enjoy himself. 🙂 He could have taken a bite out of that pumpkin from the back for goodness sake!
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This was certainly a glorious story that brought a smile to my day. Thank you!
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You’re welcome Jenny – it was pretty funny to watch it all play out in front of me. Glad to give you a smile … the world needs more smiles!
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LOL – you have a gift of being able to capture squirrels in action. Great photos and a fun post to go with it. I wonder if the homeowners were watching you while you were watching the squirrels…?
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Thanks Shelley – he was a mischief maker for sure. I don’t think anyone was home because they likely would have come outside and shooed him away. He was destroying everything in his sight. Little bugger! It was a corner house, so I could watch him and take pictures without intruding on their property, so it worked out for me.
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LOL he was having lots of fun while he was at it. You sure did get great photos!
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So funny, Linda. We had some little bugger eating the corn off of our stalks and assumed it was a racoon. I am now thinking it was a squirrel. LOL! He/ she didn’t eat the pumpkins though (YET).
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Glad to give you a giggle Ruth. Well I also discovered some news about a little bugger in my backyard … I’ve been feeding Grady peanuts in the backyard and found some scat back there – I knew it was a larger animal than a squirrel and asked my neighbor if he has seen any cats … he responded to my question saying “two large cats and a raccoon in both our yards!” I was in shock – a raccoon … this is not a rural area at all. I must find a new place to feed Grady because I am not going to encourage a raccoon’s presence … yep, I Googled and they like peanuts. But he is eating more than peanuts … likely climbing into someone’s garbage as there are no fruits/veggies in gardens this time of year. Jeff said the raccoon was on their deck by their door wall and was huge.
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Racoons are cute but can be a real nuisance.
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I am pretty mortified to make this discovery!
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I think they are opportunists but if they don’t find what they are looking for move on quickly. Not having any food around might do the trick.
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I hope that it moves on, and I can’t see it was the peanuts, there were not that many and no shells were left – all peanuts carried away whole by Grady. I was speechless to hear this.
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What fun for them and you, Linda!
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I was at the right place at the right time Pam and with camera in hand. This post kind of landed in my lap. 🙂
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🥰😂
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I never can get pictures for they run away. I’m glad you can get them!!
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That squirrel was so engrossed in getting into mischief that he gave me “the look” when I first saw him, as if to say “what do you want with me – I’ll do what I want here!” So he was so busy climbing around the cornstalks and eating Indian corn, pumpkin and tipping over the flowers that I could get these shots – otherwise they do run like the wind sometimes (unless they stay to eat peanuts!)
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They always run when I’m about! I’m glad you get them to stay for the pictures…
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I took some more cute shots you will like Ellie – a few of Midnight the black squirrel and some of Parker … took them yesterday as it was sunny and froze my fingers off. Did not have the gloves with the flip-back fingers and took my regular gloves off – it was cold yesterday too, not as bad as today though. Do you feed them some peanuts Ellie? Not a lot, just a few peanuts in the shell. They’ll come closer then and even the younger ones will run the other way when they see me, even with peanuts. I don’t get that because they see the other squirrels hanging out together on the path. Maybe they are just young and skittish.
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I’ll have to try that. I’ve never done so. I rarely see them, just on the odd occasion and when I venture nearer they disappear, but if I’d keep peanuts in my pocket…..
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Oh yes – peanuts are a squirrel magnet. And you’ll be a squirrel magnet too. Also try talking softly to them, coaxing them to see what you have to offer them. Once that happens, there goes part of your “allowance” for peanuts. 🙂
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