or If at First You Don’t Succeed
The squirrel came bounding across the yard and hopped up into the dogwood tree. There two choices awaited it. Should it go for the suet feeder, close to the trunk and easy to hold onto? Or would it be sunflower seeds today? That would involve a little more work, some gymnastics, and perhaps, a bit of luck.
The squirrel sat there on the branch, seemingly deep in thought. Then it pattered out on the branch holding the seed feeder. Another stop to think. A junco watched as the squirrel started down the wire to the feeder, then pulled back up. Was it worth it? For a moment, it pondered strategy. Then it tried again, slipping down the wire, back feet tightly grasping the branch above, hanging upside down next to the feeder. It carefully slid down the wire until the back feet held onto the top of the feeder.
Finally it could reach the seeds. Front paws grabbed the feeder, picking out little black nuggets. It ate a couple, reached back for more. Oops! Back feet slipped, and down went the squirrel. It plopped to the ground, dignity injured, but otherwise apparently unhurt. Okay, maybe it would just eat seeds off the ground for a bit, take the safe route.
But keeping a squirrel out of a tree is like keeping politicians off the stage. Not going to happen. Soon, confidence recovered, the furry guy was up there again, plotting its way to dinner.
Sparrow Thoughts 
It seems you have a good attitude about the squirrels. I know many do not like them at their bird feeders at all. We’ve only seen a handful of squirrels since we moved here in 2007. But we’ve got possums right now and those need to find a new home!
I really like how you caught the Junco in that picture.
Thanks! I got lucky with that junco. We aren’t thrilled with the greedy squirrels, but they are so funny to watch that we don’t mind too much. The problem animals we had recently were raccoons. I couldn’t figure out why the feeders would be full in the evening, but empty in the morning, and then my husband went out to dump the garbage late at night and saw two raccoons raiding the feeder. I tried moving the feeders farther out on a branch, but the raccoons broke the branch. Now I bring the feeders in every evening. I don’t want my poor dogwood suffering!