“Good morning, Squeaky Pie,” said Momanita, “Something’s eating the lawn.”
Momanita slipped a Wheat Chex between the bars of my rolly nest. Wheat Chex tasted better than the red veggie flakes in my feed dish, but not as delicious as millet.
“The lawn Mike mows? Grass doesn’t taste good.”
Once Momanita plucked a blade for me to nibble. Yuck!
To other hootmans this sounded like squeals and whistles, but not to Momanita. She MOSTLY understood cockatiel speak. I MOSTLY understood hootman talk.
Squirrels Without A Calendar
“Some critter dug shallow holes in the lawn,” said Momanita. “The holes weren’t there yesterday. I wonder who’s digging.”
When Momanita wondered, she thought of questions.
When she thought of questions, she looked for answers.
When she looked for answers, she needed my help.
“Let’s investigate,” said Momanita.
I climbed out of my rolly cage into my writing nest. Momanita climbed the stairs to HER writing nest. She scooted her chair to the computer and tapped the keyboard. I perched on top the writing nest and thought about the lawn holes.
“Squirrels!” I said, “Those wily squirrels did it!”
Squirrels stole sunflower seeds from the birdfeeder. Sunflower seeds were for my cardinal friends, not for sneaky squirrels
I didn’t trust squirrels.
“It’s probably not squirrels,” said Momanita. “Squirrels mainly bury nuts in the fall. Then they’ll have food for the winter. It’s too early in the year.”
“Squirrels don’t have calendars. It could be a squirrel who thinks it’s October.”
Chipmunks With Flashlights
“A chipmunk scampered across the deck yesterday,” said Momanita. “Maybe a chipmunk burrowed in the lawn.”
Momanita typed and read.
“Chipmunks are striped squirrels,” said Momanita.
“Chipmunks are squirrels! They eat the sunflower seeds that the gray squirrels spill. The chipmunks dug up the lawn!”
“It’s probably not the chipmunk, said Momanita. “Chipmunks are diurnal like us. They’re active during the day. They don’t see well at night. The holes were dug after dark.”
“It could be a chipmunk with a flashlight.”
Momanita didn’t agree. She typed and read more.
Skunks with Deodorant
“Neighbor John said he saw a skunk by his trees,” said Momanita. “Maybe a skunk poked into our lawn.”
I never met a skunk, but my dog friends did.
“Skunks are nocturnal. They’re active at night,” said Momanita. “I found the holes early in the morning.”
“A skunk sprayed Maggie and Zoey. They smelled awful! A skunk dug up the lawn!”
“It’s probably not a skunk,” said Momanita. “If a skunk was in the yard, we’d probably smell it.”
“It could be a skunk with deodorant.”
A Raccoon With An Appetite
“When pulling weeds, I found a pile of scat under the maple,” said Momanita. “I’ll research whose scat it is.”
“Scat is poop, right? You’re REALLY researching poop?”
“If scat is tube shaped, it’s from a meat-eating animal,” said Momanita. “I found tube shaped scat with seeds in it. So, it must be from an animal that eats meat and plants, an omnivore.”
“So, if it’s not a gray squirrel or a chipmunk or a skunk, who could it be?”
“I think it’s a raccoon that’s digging up our lawn,” said Momanita. “He’s hunting for grubs.”
“Do grubs taste like millet? If they do, I’d dig up the lawn, too.”
“It’s not bad that the raccoon is eating the grubs. Grubs kill a lawn.”
Think It Through
“We solved the mystery, Squeaks,” said Momanita, “and I learned a lesson.”
“I learned a lesson, too.”
“I enjoy watching squirrels and chipmunks in the yard even though they dig and tunnel,” said Momanita. “I like that skunks and raccoons wander around at night finding food in our yard.”
“I learned that chipmunks don’t use flashlights and skunks don’t use deodorant. I also learned to think before I accuse anyone- even squirrels.”
“These lessons are important,” said Momanita and turned toward her computer. “Let’s write about them.”
I scooted up Momanita’s arm to her shoulder and dictated my post.
To other hootmans this sounded like squeals and whistles, but not to Momanita. She MOSTLY understood cockatiel speak. I MOSTLY understood hootman talk.
Anita Borgo 