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PINE CONES

I love to have a few pine cones, they remind me of time spent with my family growing up on a farm in rural West Sussex. I remember on the cold wintry days going out with mum to collect these from the hundreds of pine trees that surrounded the land my dad farmed on. I regret to say that a great majority of these trees were felled a few years back, no not to make room for housing but for a golf course of all things! We had an open coal fire in our sitting room and these cones really spat when we threw them onto the burning coals, not too good for Mum's carpet, although the rug in front of it took the full extent of the scorching and of course when out of the room we would always put the fireguard up.

A pine cone is a seed that comes from a pine tree. Pine trees are tall and straight. Pine trees don't lose their leaves in autumn and winter. They belong to a group of trees called evergreens.



I always love the opportunity to mention squirrels, I know they can be pests, but who could hate these lovely cute 'n furry creatures? My 'Secret' grey squirrel is still reeking havoc around the garden, he has knocked down a bird feeder yet again, with his acrobatic antics!

Squirrels are seed eaters. They favour pine cones, but also eat larch and spruce. Their diet also includes fungi, shoots and fruits of shrubs and trees, and sometimes birds' eggs. They can choose between good and bad nuts by holding them in their paws. Reds do not hibernate and store fungi in trees to eat over the winter months. When food is plentiful, they put on weight in the autumn to help them through the winter. This is important for breeding females, so that they are in good condition for producing young.

RED SQUIRREL

On our recent visit to Jersey I was very keen to see more of our lovely native red squirrel, on our last trip I only saw one, but true to nature not a single one was to be seen during our whole break away. After telling myself I was not going to see one on this occasion, much to my surprise on our early morning run back to the airport I saw two in different locations, if you have never seen one they are much smaller than the grey squirrel and just like Squirrel Nutkin from the Beatrix Potter tales.

Unfortunately these endearing little creatures have found themselves on the UK endangered species list and without conservation could become extinct within the next 20 to 30 years. This is due to a combination of causes which include being under threat from the increasing numbers of the introduced American grey squirrel, the deadly squirrel pox virus carried by the grey and a loss of woodland habitat.

It is estimated that only 140,000 remain, compared to 2.5 million greys.

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GREY SQUIRREL

We have lived in our present home since 1998 and as we have a small wooded area in our garden, over the years I have always thought it strange that a squirrel had never discovered it, well not until now that is. I am in two minds about our little visitor, you could say he is just a rat with a bushy tail, but I look at him and think how cute he is and we have already christened him 'Secret Squirrel', but on the other hand is he going to reek havoc around the garden big time once I start to plant bulbs, already he has been having fun turfing compost out from my troughs and I am convinced on the quiet he has been eating the fat balls from my starling, not squirrel proof feeder.

I have struggled to get a good picture of him, I tried again today but he wasn’t having any of it and leapt over my compost bins, onto the fence, then the shed, bolted up one side of the roof (we do live in a bungalow) and flew off the other side, they can literally fly. This picture was taken the other day and he is nibbling on a monkey nut which I suspect he has picked up from a neighbour's garden.

Many years ago my mum had a resident squirrel which used to come up to her patio doors, never let himself in, but for his troubles would be rewarded with the occasional chocolate biscuit of all things, he did look cute though, first twirling the biscuit around in his paws and then so neatly nibbling all around the edge. Then after all the encouragement she had given to it, would then expect sympathy from me when he uprooted all her pots to bury his finds.