What i learned from a squirrel

My property is a certified National Wildlife  -  Wildlife Habitat, which means we supply food, shelter and water to our bird population all year round.  In the spring we put out grape jelly for the Baltimore Oriels which attracts every ant in the county.

In the winter we provide both bird seed and bird suet.  My wife has a recipe for the suet that includes:  lard, peanut butter, bird seed and oatmeal that the birds are crazy about.  The birds can eat a block of suet in three days during the frigid Wisconsin winter.

The problem is that squirrels also have a love of the suet and compete with the birds, especially the woodpeckers.  Squirrels have voracious appetites and can consume an entire block of suet in a day.

My suet feeder hangs from the very top of a green, metal pole about a foot from the pole.  Below the feeder is a clear, dome shaped plastic baffle designed to block squirrels climbing up the pole to the feeder.  I also have a black, metal pyramid shaped baffle that claims to stop squirrels in their tracks.  Neither work.
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 As I begin 2019 I’ve learned two lessons.  First, squirrels are clever and tenacious.  In my writing life I need to be as tenacious as a squirrel.  Second, I will feed both the birds and the squirrels.