If at first you don’t succeed, take a lesson from the squirrels. We watched hard working squirrels shimmy up our birdfeeder pole to rob the seed. In an effort to prevent this, I greased the pole so the furry-tailed critters couldn’t climb it. But much to our frustration, we noticed that squirrels were still consistently perched on the feeder, pilfering all the food.
After keeping vigilant watch, we finally noticed they were actually risking life and limb by leaping off a nearby tree branch on to the pole, a distance of at least ten feet. When life created an obstacle, they just kept working hard to figure out a solution. I couldn’t help but admire their resolve.
I moved the bird feeder pole further away from the tree. The other day we found the feeder knocked down to the ground and the squirrels feasting on the spilled seed. I don’t know how they did it, but it must have taken hard work and creative thinking. We can learn from the squirrels.