Pandoring to Seymore

Becoming Seymore's mother took me emotionally back to the earlier times when my daughter was a tiny baby. I recognized that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that came from the stress and worry I would somehow destroy this gift from God. I began to gain more confidence with Seymore as he grew and flourished in his new home. He was a miracle of life, but still a fussy eater...much like my human child was as an infant. In fact, just like Seymore, she also constantly fell asleep during feedings.

He was eating more solid food now but had settled on grapes and pecans. I couldn't fault his taste since both of the ingredients show up prominently in my salads, but was concerned that in addition to his milk, he needed a bigger variety of food. Daily, the JP Whickson Catering Service brought every type of tidbit from the yard and garden. Still, he waited for grapes and pecans.

Nut Balls Arrive
In an effort to supply all the nutrients he needed, I made special nut balls for Seymore from a recipe I found at Squirrels: Nutrition and Care by Clarissa Summers. It cost well over $120 to purchase all the ingredients necessary, with vitamin E oil, dolomite calcium, alfalfa tablets and brewer's yeast as just a few of the ingredients. However, you only give one nut ball per day and the recipe made about 120 of them.

It took an hour and involved more work in the kitchen. Mike would be lucky if I spent that much time on a week's worth of meal preparation. Once you crushed, mixed and rolled them, you still had to let the balls air dry before you gave them to the squirrel. They sat on the tinfoil filling the room with the smell of pecans mixed with cod liver oil, another delicious ingredient. I couldn't wait. I slipped into Seymore's room and slipped him a nut ball that only dried for an hour. (The site said it was okay to give fresh ones to squirrels.) He wasn't that enthusiastic about it and set it aside. I was crushed.

One More Attempt
I decided that our garden and yard were the best spots to find food for Seymore. I had some very baby carrots that never seemed to grow remaining in the garden. I picked some lemon balm, dandelion leaves, beet leaves, tiny peppers that developed late in the season and a small twig slightly thicker than a darning needle.

Seymore tried the carrot but simply wasn't that impressed. I then gave him the lemon balm. He nibbled at it and it looked as though it might be a hit. Then, he found he HATED the taste. If you've never seen a squirrel spit, it's a real sight! He threw down the leaf and ran for the paper towel. He wiped his paws and MOUTH! He then ran to the tree branch in the nest and gnarled on it. He did not like lemon balm...at all!

He looked suspiciously at everything I offered from that point onward. Finally, he accepted the small twig and nibbled on it for a while before heading for bed. He now has four on his list of desirable foods: grapes, pecans, nut balls and twigs.