Pomegranate Pain
I checked on my pomegranate tree a couple of weeks ago and the fruit never looked like it was ready. Denis said not to worry because the squirrels were all hibernating and the fruit would be safe. And I know the longer any fruit stays on the tree, the sweeter it will taste. But this morning, I saw a squirrel in the back yard. Hmmm… not hibernating… not carrying nuts… so what’s that in his mouth?? It’s big and red and it’s not Santa Claus.
That mangy, rat-faced, no-good, low-life, beady-eyed, scum-sucking, pomegranate-eating squirrel is ruining my life. I threw a tennis ball at him and missed but it got his attention. He dropped the pomegranate (what was left of it) and flew like a reindeer up the back hill and he was gone. I decided I’d better take all the pomegranates off the tree so that rodent can’t get any more. See this picture?
The one on the lower right was the one he dropped and it was just a shell with nothing left inside. The other ones were still on the tree! I planted this tree because pomegranates are super healthy and eating them will make you live longer. So my mangy, rat-faced, no-good, low-life, beady-eyed, scum-sucking squirrel is probably going to live even longer than he normally would, thanks to me. Life is not fair.
I too had problems with squirrels eating my fruits. Something i tried that worked for me and might help you. What I did was put up a net covering my tree once it starts having fruits. Leave some room between the tree and the net acts as a cushion make sure the net goes all the way to the floor that way the squirrels can’t sneak underneath.
I feel for you. We live in the Texas Hill Country and have lots of squirrels here too, but what’s worse are the larger variety of rodents here. White-tailed deer that eat anything they can find, like my crepe myrtals, rose bushes, and any other flowers they can get to. And they destroy your yard and jump the fence so they can destroy the young apple trees we just planted last fall and two young sycamore trees because they were in rut and frustrated chasing the does. Squirrels are the least of my worries. I thought the deer were eating my gardenias too, but they were innocent of that one. We caught a cute little bunny on the front steps with gardenia breath! It’s an infestation!
Oh no, not your pomegranates. As much as you have to deal with these squirrels stealing from you and destroying your fruit. I would’ve threw more than a tennis ball at him. I would be asking Santa for a pellet gun and use the squirrels as target practice. You know, my Dad got a pellet gun when they made a nest at the corner of our roof and every time one would poke it’s head out he would shoot at it. Never hit one but he scared the day lights out of them. My Dad hated squirrels too. They are more annoying than any rodents there is. My wish for you is next year squirrels will vanish from your property and never be seen again, because I feel your frustration and I know what it’s like to have these annoying rodents taking over your yard…
I think it’s time you add a new recipe to your cookbook. Put it under stew recipes. Call it ” delicious,mangy, rat-faced, no-good, low-life, beady-eyed, scum-sucking squirrel stew! Its delicious served with fresh squeezed pomegranate tea.( just kidding). What would life be like without a little humorous aggravation?