Orioles, wild flowers and red squirrel remorse

Now that spring finally got started, it seems like it's "bustin' out all over." (Thank you, Rodgers & Hammerstein!)  All our birds from last week are still here this week only in higher numbers.  But today we had a new surprise!

Meet Mrs. Baltimore Oriole.  Mr. was around, too, but not when I had my camera.  He's much brighter...of course.  Last week we put out this dish with jelly in it because we've heard it attracts orioles.  And...success!  I haven't seen an oriole around here for a long time!

And the wildflowers are also waking up.  We were surprised to see lots of trilliums in our woods this morning, but, alas, no camera.  I had better luck on my rather misty walk today -- wild strawberries, pussytoes, and marsh marigolds, also called cowslips.

Wild strawberries

Pussytoes (I should have zoomed in a little more, but they look like little cat feet.)

This bunch of marsh marigolds is right along our driveway.  Leann dug them up from someplace years ago and planted them in the marshy ditch by the driveway.  They come back every year but it must not be the IDEAL spot, because the bunch never gets much bigger.

And now for my remorse, the red squirrel variety.  Tonight I went to my Feedly blogroll and there was Laura Erickson's blog, Laura's Birding Blog.  Laura Erickson is an expert on birds and kind of a favorite daughter-in-law of our town, and she often comes back for various birding purposes. Her mother-in-law, Helen, now some past 90, was a major force in all kinds of community organizations, especially church and museum, when she was in her best days...which was really until just a year or so ago.   Anyway, in Laura's blog she discusses her attempt to eradicate an insect infestation on one of her orchids, and goes on to ponder other beings that we call pests, questioning our right to fight pests and the possible consequences, as with the passenger pigeons.

Since we were gone several days, one of my first tasks this morning was to fill the bird feeders for all our bird friends.  But who should show up for the filled feeder but a little red squirrel.  He hangs upside down, clinging to the "squirrel-proof" feeder with his little toes, and sucks in the sunflower seeds from the tray.  With gray squirrels, we can always go to the window, pound on it, maybe even open the window and yell, and they run away.  This little red squirrel had no fear.  I was looking around for something to toss at him.  I finally tried a handful of tongue depressors, one at a time - we somehow have a box of them leftover from a school project, I'm sure.  Turns out tongue depressors are way too light and, also, I can't throw very well.  Next weapon was an old ski pole.  I thought I would stand inside the screen-less window and just whack at the deck floor and scare him.  Again, no fear.  So finally I took my ski pole outside and actually walked up to him and whacked at him...a little.  And he ran away down the ravine, but was back with a vengeance later in the afternoon.

So now, thanks to Laura and my friend who also heard my squirrel story tonight, I'm feeling remorseful.  After all, what's a few sunflower seeds??