Peanuts and Popsicles. #Wordless Wednesday #Squirrel Days of Summer

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Linda Schaub

#Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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32 Responses to Peanuts and Popsicles. #Wordless Wednesday #Squirrel Days of Summer

  1. Laurie says:
    August 18, 2021 at 8:46 am

    Linda, you are going above and beyond for your furry friends. Popsicles to beat the heat works for squirrels too!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 18, 2021 at 7:46 pm

      It took a while to grow on them Laurie. At first I think they were scared, then I started plunking a peanut on top and that seemed to make an impression. 🙂

      Like

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 18, 2021 at 8:20 pm

      BTW … where are you these days Laurie? Are you still in Alaska? I’m guessing you went there right from you stay in Colorado for Atti’s birthday? I thought of you today as I registered for my last 5K of the year: “Walk for the Wild” to benefit wildlife and wildlife refuges. I’m afraid to ask … is the London Marathon and your trip to England and Ireland still a go?

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  2. Ally Bean says:
    August 18, 2021 at 11:08 am

    Cute, cute. For the butterflies I put ice cubes in a terra cotta saucer then place it near the rose bushes. I need to up my game however. Your popsicles rock.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 18, 2021 at 7:56 pm

      It took a little bit of time for them to get used to it Ally – I think they were scared until I plunked a peanut on top. Peanuts make everything better don’t ya know. 🙂 When I had my butterfly garden (before the Polar Vortex wiped out most of my perennials in 2014), I read up on butterfly gardens in the magazine “Birds and Blooms” and they recommended using a “puddling dish” to give water to the butterflies. They said to get a terra cotta saucer and fill it with playsand and wet the sand, leaving a small puddle of water on top, which eventually just sinks into the sand to keep it moist. The butterflies alight on the wet sand and drink from it. They also said to have a “sunning rock” nearby. That’s a low, flat rock and the butterflies sit on the rock which is warmed by the sun. I did get a lot of butterflies, but had butterfly bushes which are magnets for all kinds of butterflies. I got a couple of butterfly houses too but I can’t say I ever saw a butterfly go in there for cover. These houses look like bird houses, but have slits instead of holes and you put twigs inside of the houses to encourage the butterflies to seek shelter on windy days. They alight on the twigs inside and rest. I loved that magazine, but quit subscribing after my garden was wiped out and the neighbor’s dog that was outside 24/7/365 brought rats and I had to stop feeding and watering the birds.

      Liked by 2 people

      • Ally Bean says:
        August 19, 2021 at 6:34 am

        I didn’t know about the sand in the dish, but I do put a flat rock in it so the butterflies have somewhere to rest before and after drinking the water. What I read told me to add the ice cubes so I do that once a day when it’s really hot out. Like in August.

        Liked by 2 people

      • Linda Schaub says:
        August 19, 2021 at 6:50 pm

        I enjoyed my butterfly garden Ally and was bummed out when everything died. I often discuss whether to start replenishing the perennials and butterfly bushes with Joni (Homeplace Web). I like her gardens, especially her roses. Most of my roses were damaged from that same prolonged cold weather and don’t look as good anymore. Joni says with the erratic weather, you either have to water every day or it rains too much and you’ll worry everything will be ruined. I have to give it some thought after retirement.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. bekitschig says:
    August 18, 2021 at 11:51 am

    Aww, thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    August 18, 2021 at 6:29 pm

    Those pics sure put a smile on my face! 🙂 Thanks, Linda! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 18, 2021 at 7:58 pm

      Glad to give you a smile Tom. Two-Tone and her family were a little apprehensive in the beginning, but it finally dawned on them that the ice might be nice to cool off … I helped matters along by putting the peanut on top. 🙂

      Like

  5. Anne Mehrling says:
    August 18, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    I loved your photos. Do the squirrels use the ice at all?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 18, 2021 at 9:34 pm

      Glad you liked the photos Anne. I saw a video on an animal site I follow on Twitter and the squirrel in someone’s yard was licking it like a Popsicle. So I thought I’d try it too. Two-Tone and her family took awhile to get on the ice kick, so I had to entice them to use it with the peanut on top. I’ve seen quite a few pink tongues taking a swipe or two, then I leave for my walk and it’s melted when I return. The best time to do it is in the morning as it would only last a few minutes in the heat of the day. My new trick is I put the ice in an old saucer and let it melt that way.

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  6. AnnMarie R stevens says:
    August 18, 2021 at 10:02 pm

    Miss Linda………………………….you are the most cleverest person…………………………..you should be writing articles for the New York Times…………………………..clever about the popsicles!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 19, 2021 at 6:30 am

      Thanks Ann Marie – they didn’t catch on right away, but I wanted to offer water without worrying about stagnant water drawing mosquitoes and the dish getting icky. I saw a video where a guy did this for his backyard squirrel and it loved it!

      Like

  7. Barbara Rodgers says:
    August 20, 2021 at 9:54 am

    Your squirrels never know what you’re going to do next! These pictures are beyond cute. I love the look in his/her eye in the first and third photos, kind of like, “look what I’ve got!” Lucky little creature. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 20, 2021 at 7:35 pm

      Glad you liked the pictures Barbara … that little Two-Tone is a cutie and yes, I went back and looked and it is a cute look, especially because she is usually waiting for me when I open the door and she beats any other squirrels or cardinals and jays. It took a while for her to come around and try the popsicle. 🙂

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  8. Prior... says:
    August 20, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    Love the “squirrel days of summer” phrase
    And side note – grabbed a squirrel photo to share with us – climbing a palm tree baby!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Amorina Rose says:
    August 21, 2021 at 9:14 pm

    Adore your images, so feel good

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Joni says:
    August 22, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    Cute idea Linda! But boy they must melt quickly in this heat. Did they ever lick it or was it too cold for them? I don’t know what/how/where squirrels drink, but they must.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 22, 2021 at 9:12 pm

      Glad you liked it Joni. I’ve been using this “popsicle” during this extreme heat and it already starts to melt from the hot temps shortly after I put it there, then it starts dripping. I open the front storm door ahead of putting the peanuts and ice block there so Two-Tone and pals know it is coming … they scope out the porch from their tree. It took a while though to get used to it, (probably because it was almost the same size as them). I use a tall Styrofoam cup to freeze it.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. indianeskitchen says:
    August 22, 2021 at 10:54 pm

    Clever once again! You are such a wonderful squirrel mommy!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 23, 2021 at 6:41 pm

      Thank you Diane – I am feeling badly tonight because one black squirrel, not Two-Tone, but I think one of her offspring, came bolting across the street this morning for peanuts. I was leaving soon to take my car in for service. I told that squirrel “stay put as I have to pull out of the garage.” Not that he/she understood me – evidently not as I went out five minutes later and it was in the street dead. I felt so badly, so now some remorse about whether to keep feeding them – their tree is across the street, so they see me open the door to put out peanuts and bolt over. I don’t know the people across the street, so not going to go over there to feed them.

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