This post is about two incidents this week, in what I’ll term “The Great Easter Cookie Caper” and I hope you get a giggle or two out of it, simply because laughs are not in abundance these days.
So it’s not a bunny trail, or even a bunny tail … but another squirrel tale.
A little backstory.
I get a kick out of the antics of Parker, my favorite squirrel at Council Point Park. After he delighted in the Christmas tree-shaped cookie and the Valentine’s Day heart-shaped cookie, I decided I must do something special for Easter for my furry pals. Then I decided why not focus on the cute squirrels that hang out at the house?
Even before COVID-19 entered our lives, I had bought the “fixin’s” for holiday cookies. Those ingredients would be Nutter Butter cookies, walnuts, pistachios and pink icing.
Monday morning was warm and wonderful – a real treat temp-wise and sunshiny as well, so I hurried and made a batch of cookies … “made” being the operative word here.
I like Nutter Butters, those peanut-flavored sandwich cookies with peanut cream in between and bought them for a Fat Tuesday treat for myself, but it was still Lent after all, so I was not tempted by these peanutty cookies, sweet icing smell and aroma of nuts. I slathered pink icing onto the surface of the cookies using that icing to “glue” in the nuts. I even made a plain, nut-free version in case someone had a “nut allergy” as I aimed not to disappoint.
I thought they were kind of cute and decided if I get invited somewhere, these would be my contribution as they are my kind of recipe – simple.
So I hurried outside, camera in hand and laid them on the driveway pavement. There was shade on the porch, so I needed to use the driveway where it was sunny. I crossed my fingers the mail carrier did not arrive and I needed to request he be careful not to squash my creation.
I took some pictures of this cache of creativity.
Pretty in pink … but no one showed up.
Hmm – that title may sound like a lament from a teenager when she dressed for the prom in a pink gown and her date stood her up – no, it is the pink cookies and the squirrels were MIA. Any other time, I open the door and am greeted by a passel of squirrels coming to greet me with expectant faces; and, if I am later than usual, they might even have front paws crossed and tapping one foot. Just sayin’. They are pretty prompt when it comes to their peanuts. Even the jays, cardinals and sparrows position themselves in the neighbor’s tree until peanuts are dispensed. Then, with more nerve than you’d believe, they even scamper or fly over when I return from walking, like it was the first time they saw me that day.
So there I stood, camera in hand, waiting by a stash of squirrel goodies … after a while, even I was a realist – no one was going to be chowing down on the cookies and it was an idea that was better left in my head.
I blamed it on the Cooper’s Hawk and suspected one had been around and my peanut-eating pals were spooked, although these munchkins ARE known to be a bit squirrelly sometimes.
I waited a half hour and no furry or feathered visitors arrived, so I put some peanuts in the shell in the basket out front and went into the house. Clearly it was not ready for prime time yet.
I even stole back to the front door, just before starting work, but alas – the treats were untouched. Then I worried a little about my pals – I clearly suspected a Cooper’s Hawk was out and about.
I started to work and was on a phone call for about 3/4s of an hour. While on the phone, I heard a loud banging on the front door. Annoyed, as the noise distracted me from the conversation, when I finally ended the call, I marched to the door, expecting to find a handbill tucked in the door handle. But no – it was my Amazon order which arrived two days early. Hmm.
But wait … the box, (fairly large, though you can’t tell from the picture the courier sent upon delivery), was surrounded by squirrels. One had a paw on the top, another was investigating the perimeter and oh look – there was Grady the Gray Squirrel on the top step, on haunches and begging for peanuts, a plaintive look on his furry face. Even the bald squirrel, now sporting some peach fuzz and emboldened by this new fur, so not so timid now, was perched on a corner of the porch leisurely eating a cookie. A glance over to the driveway told me he had the last cookie, the rest of the treats having been devoured sometime between 9:30 and 12:30.
First things first – “thank you for being like watchdogs and making sure no porch pirates ran off with the box – you all are worth your weight in peanuts” I told them. They moved in closer, on the guise of curiosity about the box, but more likely to get more peanuts dropped next to their paws – I’m no dummy.
Well, I wanted to empty the contents of the cardboard box and leave the box outside at the side of the house. I slit open the box and it was filled with packing materials so I scurried off to get a bag to put them in, and returned just a minute later to discover squirrels either peering over the side of the box or playing with the packing materials. “Where were you guys when I so patiently waited for you?” I asked. I’d have loved to grab the camera, but I needed to get back to work, so I shooed them away, gave out more peanuts to keep them occupied and set out to empty the box.
Well, smart cookies don’t crumble.
When I got back into the house, and back to my work, I thought about what just transpired and had a good laugh. I decided I needed to repeat the exercise as I didn’t want to just post the photo of the cookies alone – so yesterday became the day for …
Take Two.
I made another batch of Easter Egg cookies yesterday, adding some more intricacies to the design. By doing so, I was ensuring these nine cookies looked different for the second picture – no fudging here. Speaking of fudge, no chocolate was used for these treats – the icing was minimal, just enough to “glue” the nuts to the Nutter Butters, nothing to harm my nutty buddies.
I put the remaining walnuts, pistachios and some sunflower seed hearts in one cup and some peanuts in the shell in the other – it is Easter after all, so I was generous with the squirts.
That task accomplished, I had to get dressed and my butt in gear, with several factors coming into play, such as getting out before the mail man arrived as I didn’t want to say “um, please don’t step on the squirrel treats” and there should be a little sun, not wet pavement, a squirrel or two, or three – well you get it. The criteria had a little wiggle room – it was really cold! We had a 21F (-6C) wind chill – it’s early April in Michigan, and so what if 36 hours earlier we had enjoyed a 70-degree F (21 C) day! In my haste to get outside, I did not really factor in the wind which was clipping along, with occasional gusts to 20 mph (32 kph). At times I had to brace myself with my feet wide apart to steady the camera as the wind buffeted me around. If the icing wasn’t totally dry in the house, it sure would be now, so no furry faces would be smudged by pink icing, even their whiskers would remain pristine.
The plate of cookies and two cups necessitated several trips out front as I didn’t want to spill or drop anything. Then I had to return to lock the back door. In the split second I was gone, one of the black squirrels came a’callin’. I rounded the corner and he saw me, taking off in a heartbeat, telltale walnut pieces spilling onto the doorstop where he had knocked over the cup.
I spread out the goodies and it took a few minutes ‘til the posse started circling around the treats. A nibble here or there, an appetizer of strictly peanuts …
“C’mon guys – be adventurous, live a little” I urged them.
Finally one squirrel sampled a cookie with an appreciative sniff first…
… then ran with it clenched in its teeth, over to the nearest tree.
Because you never know if another squirrel will happen along and swipe that treat from your paws, it’s best to scurry up the tree as fast as you can and enjoy your cookie in peace and solitude.
This Fox squirrel quickly followed suit.
Was that Nutter Butter deluxe destined to feed the whole family? Nope, it seemed it was noshed on forever, and I am sure it was savored in its entirety by each squirrel, and not shared. I noticed that once they had the cookie in hand, er … paw, they didn’t come to the ground again.
I mused the squirrels’ tails were as laid back as they were, stabilizing themselves in the high winds, while noshing nuts, especially on a low tree branch.
I left my furry and feathered friends in a state of nut nirvana!
These are two different black squirrels, each enjoying a treat.
I got ‘er done, scattered the rest of the walnuts and pistachios and some peanuts in the place where I usually feed them, then I headed into the house.
Happy Easter to you all.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
In my next life I want to be a squirrel i your backyard.
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Yes, they get treated like princes don’t they?
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Also, because you subscribe by e-mail, you received this post; it did not publish to Reader again.
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Miss Linda……………………………..I enjoyed you Easter cookie Blog today!…………………………..now I will have to try to make your “furried Friends favorite cookies”………………………….after I’m finished with the COVID-19 quarentine………………………..hmmmm……………………………maybe July??
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Yes, Ann Marie, if I can make these treats, for sure you, the baker, can. And yes, do it for Fourth of July. I saw how you made the flags on those painted rocks so I think you should do it. I hope you are done with quarantine and things are normal before Fourth of July – maybe by Memorial Day is a bit too optimistic. I’m glad you liked this post. I knew I’d give you a well-deserved smile and lift your spirits a little.
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That was cute Linda! Those squirrels may have been slow to figure it out, but they seemed very appreciative. It must be frustrating, with your posts not showing up in Reader again? Do they have any idea why? Do you think it’s the Block Editor?
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I was typing a response and it flew off the page and I had to type it over – grrr. I am glad you liked it Joni. It was fun putting together the entire post. Who knew I could turn cookies into Easter eggs? I think they liked them, and I was surprised they did not pull the nuts off and discard the cookie, but since it is a peanut butter cookie, they likely smelled that too.
I am very frustrated right now and did Control F5 and also cleared the cache and also got a new browser just to use for posting – nothing worked. It worked fine with the new browser for the chalk art post. They say it is not that I am using Windows 7 so the only thing that it could be would be the block editor. I looked at the instructions you sent me as tonight I had a difficult time justifying the text – usually I “apply” justifying and it works, tonight it did not, although it showed up that way in the end, and I could not preview the post beforehand and as long as it is, it was frustrating not to have a final look at it.
I am going to ask when they get back to me (they said 24-48 hours) if I can just go back to Classic, but according to the directions you sent in one of the links embedded within the story, you have to download something – I don’t want to do that and risk issues with the site, but this doesn’t maake me happy either. I am thinking tomorrow morning I am going to do a post and include the link as I did spend a lot of time on this and it will be a “stale” post if it appears after Easter and way downon Reader.
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I didn’t actually read the post link I sent you re the Blockhead Editor as I hadn’t switched over. If they make us I’ll just download the app for Classic, rather than switch, as the time I tried it I just found it really cumbersome. Maybe it gets better the more you use it, but maybe my old brain just can’t handle any change. Yes, put a link on your next post, but things are moving so quickly on Reader now that a missing post is not as likely to get read. When you post it, you could ask if anyone else is having these problems maybe to get some feedback? I don’t even know what justifying the text means?
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I stayed up late – the last time I will stay up this late to catch up … but I was really far behind. I slept in this morning because it rained and I stayed up late last night. But I am finally caught up and wanted to go to bed saying I was caught up with comments and Reader. The winds Monday may cause power outages, so decided I wanted to be done. My old brain does not want to learn any more things either. But I went to Gutenberg one year ago tomorrow because I did not want to learn that and also our new software at work. I am sorry I went there if this is the cause. You are right Joni – the original post did not appear for 18 hours, no one would see it. I had a new follower last week and she said she had the same problem too but she has not commented tonight, but maybe due to the holiday. But no one else is saying anything about it. The justifed text is just having a right margin that is not ragged – it is lined up like the left margin. I liked that look and the larger headlines, so that is why I liked the block editor, though the ragged right margin still shows up in Reader which I don’t understand – it is lined up on the actual blog post.
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Well it’s certainly a puzzle. Winds had died down a bit here from this afternoon when it almost blew me away.
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Yes quiet now – I am relieved as it’s been so rainy and the ground is soggy that I was sure a tree or two would go down. We had 52 at Metro Airport – earlier they said 51. Yikes!
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Ah, so nice of you to make nice Easter cookies for the squirrels.
I used to have lots of squirrels in my yard in Virginia and I really enjoyed watching them (so did my cats). There was one squirrel that came to stare (through a glass storm door) at my male Seal Point Siamese cat every day. I think she thought my cat was the biggest and most handsome squirrel in the whole wide world. I posted a photo of her gazing lovingly at him in ‘Glassdoor Relationships.’
Here in Texas, I rarely see squirrels. But, there are lizards, tarantulas, and scorpions. Not quite the same.
BUT, there are a lot of the same birds that I saw in Virginia.
I love to hear the Mockingbirds singing!
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I get a chuckle out of the squirrels’ antics at the park and here at the house too. I thought this would be fun to do as I bought store-made cookies for Christmas and Valentine’s Day and got some funny and cute shots of the squirrels eating those cookies. I have to look at that part of your blog.
You certainly have a different terrain and way of life in Texas – oh, I’d be squeamish about the critters as they move too fast (don’t know about the scorpions). I’d be a Nervous Nellie. I was visiting family friends in Puerto Rico, after they moved for one year so the husband could open up a satellite office. We went out one night and we were waiting at the door of a restaurant for her husband to drive up with the car and we saw a huge tarantula-type spider drop down from a palm tree, skitter across the roof and climb into the open window. She and I took a cab home. 🙂 We refused to get into the car until he produced the spider’s carcass.
The birds are a treat on my walks – I cannot say I’ve seen a Mockingbird. I just read something recently, on an Audubon site I believe, showing the Mockingbird and I listened to their song. What a treat that would be. A fellow blogger is from Ohio, moved to San Francisco after marrying and her husband was transferred to Austin – she shows lots of pictures in her posts – it is different than I pictured, but way different from their time in California. Stay safe with the wacky weather in Texas tomorrow Mary.
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Those are the best photos of the squirrels holding the whole cookie. What a wonderful treat for them. I showed the pictures of the cookies to my husband, he said he would eat those. They look delicious. 🙂 The squirrels are hiding around here, I have not seen them much. Must be the rainy weather.
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Glad you like the photos Sandra – I was determined to go out again and not just show what I tried to do the first time. They are really sweet, both the squirrels and the cookies. Like your husband, I would eat them too Sandra. They smelled wonderful!
It was so windy on Friday I was concerned they would not come out a second time – they don’t venture out sometimes when it’s windy, nor with the rain, but as soon as it stops raining, they are on the move looking for peanuts!
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I will have to buy some peanuts and put them in the back yard. Looks like some of the birds eat them also from your post, like the Jays. Yes, my husband saw your post and said; “you can make some of those for me also”, 🙂
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Yes, as I walk around the path at my regular park, the birds swoop down from the trees and grab a peanut from the pathway, sometimes when a squirrel is in close proximity. I did my Wordless Wednesday post yesterday and it is about them … I know we are getting some horrible windstorms today, up to 55-60 mph and they are warning of power outages. DTE and Consumers Energy usually makes arrangements for out-of-town crews to help, but this time the high winds are widespread. It is warm this morning, but will go to 20 real feel (they said) tonight.
Woe is us if we lose power. I have to have some emergency prep ready just in case – no, I don’t have a generator. At least there is harly anything in the fridge – yes, pantry food, but not much in the fridge right now. High wind advisory begins today and I have an order coming from the post office, bandanas ordered last week for walking – we are only getting mail deliveries every other day in most areas where the zip code begins with “48” – that is me. And, they said delivery this Wednesday, then they said it would be here this past Saturday and their tracking system is down right now. I opted for free shipping and I hope it waits til Wednesday.
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Yes, it is back to cold and windy here also. Might be staying inside today. 🙂
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The wind has finally calmed down after raging from 10:00 a.m. until about 8:30 – thank goodness very few power outages and it is okay here. Would have been down to 20 degrees tonight if not. An inside day is not bad sometimes – if it is really crummy outside.
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I woke up to 24 degrees this morning. Good thing I did not pack the long underware away yet. 🙂
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Here too, but on a happy note, the MLive meteorologist says the Polar Vortex is gone until next Winter – well, that’s one less worry for us isn’t it? (Really, I thought it was already gone!)
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I have not heard of this Polar Vortex, I will have to look that one up.
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I have looked up the article I read yesterday by the head meteorologist on M-Live for you to read:
https://www.mlive.com/weather/2020/04/bye-bye-polar-vortex-see-you-next-winter.html
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That was very interesting, I had never even heard the name of it until you mentioned it. Great information thank you.
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You’re welcome Sandra – I lost all my perennials in the first Polar Vortex in 2014 – it came in January or February of 2014 – lost a massive amount of plants and bushes, then we had another one the following years. We were supposed to have one this past Winter but it didn’t happen (thankfully).
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That probably explains why I have had issues with growing stuff the last couple of years.
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We had back-to-back Polar Vortex events here – what didn’t get wiped out the first time, was wiped out the second time. Most of the perennials and plants anyway and a few bushes. I did not replant them – my garden does not look anything like it used to years ago.
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It was in my reader. I just didn’t get to it until now!
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Yes, it eventually showed up, but 18 hours after I posted it. WP does not know why this is happening. From their end, they see it; but no one else is seeing it in Reader.
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WOW – all of your generous efforts paid off – that’s one successful treat eating session! Great photos of the squirrels in action chowing down. Did you take a peek in on them later to see how many were sleeping off their sugar comas? 😉 Hoppy Easter to you, Linda!! It’s always a sweet treat to stop by here on your blog to see what you’re up to. Take care and stay safe!
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those squirrels are going to need a Dentist. (I wonder what happens when a animal does have a bad tooth? It must happen?)
I’ll bet someone else in your neighbourhood is feeding them all as well. I’ll also bet thats where they all were! You need to attach a head cam on Grady to see where he goes!
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They are spoiled aren’t they? Good thing there are no more holidays now until the end of the year. Ann Marie said maybe red, white and blue Nutter Butters for the 4th of July! (That may be for herself though.)
It would be interesting to know what they do if they have a bad tooth – maybe try to knock it out somehow to relieve the pain of something like an abscess? I have seen pictures online of squirrels who sometimes have the misfortune of having front teeth that are growing crooked, or “ingrown” for lack of a better term and they cannot chew properly. They recommend that a squirrel rehabber be brought in to capture them as they will not be able to feed themselves in the wild, so they are given liquid nutrition or soft foods going forward. I know that I’ve read that squirrels’ teeth grow constantly, and that is why they chew on bark to whittle them down – the hard nuts help too. I think acorns would help – I don’t see anyone feeding them whole walnuts that they’d need to crack with their front teeth.
I’ll bet you are right with other “feeding sources” – years ago we had a neighbor across the street who fed the neighborhood squirrel and my neighbor Marge and my mom/me fed “Sammy” as well. So, Marge would be looking out the window and he would bounce between Jerry’s house, Marge’s and our house, like doing a round robin. He was not going to miss out on any treats.
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Your furry friends finally cooperated! Great pictures, Linda. Those squirrels are spoiled by you, there is no doubt. Although, I guess you can’t blame them for not wanting to pose if there is a Cooper’s hawk lurking about.
You certainly made the backyard regulars a wonderful Easter treat! Thank you for sharing the photos of the critters munchibng on their treats! It brightened my Easter Day.
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Glad you enjoyed the pictures Laurie – I told myself I just had to go out a second time as the cookies were cute and I knew I could get a few cute shots like I did of them munching the Christmas trees and heart-shaped cookies. I like that they eat them like a human would, only nibbling by smaller bites. I had the leftovers (unadorned) today for Easter. Glad I brightened your day Laurie!
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Well aren’t you the clever one! That is a meal on one cookie and looked good enough to eat! Well done Linda! Now I hope they fix your site!!!!!
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Well thank you Diane – I didn’t get to “bake” just “make” it but now you have the recipe to use on your site! I was trying to duplicate an Easter egg. 🙂 I hope they fix it too – it is disheartening after I did that long post and it sat out in cyberspace for 18 hours.
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I wonder if I were to print your photos of Michigan Squirrelfest with arrows pointing north, would my local squirrels decamp for the luxurious living you provide? It might be worth a try. 🙂
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Hmm – it might be difficult for your squirrels to leave those walnut trees and the comfy confines of your car behind though – it’s a tough call. 🙂
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I had to laugh about the squirrels and your package. They probably though it was a box of squirrel treats. LOL! You are just to good to them. 🙂
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Ha ha – I am sure you are right Ruth. They hung out there, probably trying to see how they could sink their teeth into the box for a sample. I did have fun with this post. I was bummed when they didn’t show up the first time; ecstatic when they showed up the second time. I wish Grady and the squirrel with peach fuzz were there too – likely as soon as I went into the house they put in an appearance. They are like having pets so I must spoil those fur kids!
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Very cute! I’m a little surprised they like the sweet icing. Not that I know anything about squirrels, but that wouldn’t be a taste they’d find in nature. Either way, they sure seem to be happy with their Easter treats! I have to admit I’m a little jealous since we didn’t have treats around here at all.
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I tend to think squirrels have a bottomless pit for any kind of food, but I have to admit I don’t see the glee or the enthusiasm when I offer carrots, apples or pumpkins – they’ll go to them as an afterthought. Their treats were better than mine too Janis. I had the rest of the package of Nutter Butters, unadorned!
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❤ I love this so much. I can just imagine the squirrels playing bodyguards to your package 😂😂😂. You have the best stories of animals I have ever heard.
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Glad you like the stories Zena – I figure I am in the right place at the right time most times, especially when capturing their faces sometimes. This time I created my own story twice as the squirrels did not cooperate the first time! They have their own agenda sometimes!
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Thank you for the link Linda! Marvelous & super cute 😉
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You’re welcome Jeanine – hope it gave you a smile. 🙂
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Nut nirvana describes this delightful celebration perfectly! I’m imagining the squirrels surrounding that box, desperately curious about its contents. The black squirrels are so cute. I hope I get to see one around here some day. I love reading about the escapades of your mischievous little friends. 🙂
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Glad you liked this post Barbara – I do miss those little squirrels clamoring for nuts, especially Grady and his mate who were fearless. The two black squirrels I named Pitch and Tar and they always arrived at the same time. They were very cute and somewhat timid, but not toward the end. One Fox Squirrel was piggy and the other Fox squirrel had a horrible case of mange and was completely bald. I felt so sorry for him. Glad you like reading about my furry friends. The make my day as well!
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