Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirrels

There is a squirrel at the playground who belives that strollers, and the snacks contained therein are his own personal property. He lives in a huge oak tree and if you park your stroller anywhere near that tree, you are guarunteed a visit from the invader squirrel. Unfortunately, the best spot to park my stroller, where I can see it from every point at the playground, is under that tree.

Two weeks ago, I had my first encounter with Invader, although I didn't witness it. As I was packing up the girls, a man sitting near my stroller said "I wouldn't give your daughter her sippy cup if I were you, the squirrel was trying to get into it". A mom walked up and said "he was all over it! I ran over because I know your baby sleeps in there sometimes."

Last week, he was in and out, trying to get into the snack pocket. One of the little boys there made it his mission to chase Invader away every time he came near my stroller. I tossed him a few pretzel sticks, and after stuffing himself he returned to his tree and I didn't see him again.

Today, I looked over at the stroller from the swings, where I was pushing both of the girls. I saw a grey fluffy tail poking out from the snack pocket behind Libby's seat. Then Invader jumped out, dragging a tupperware full of Goldfish with him. He then sat and wrestled with the container trying to open/chew through the lid to get to the crackers. I walked up to him and he dropped the container, scurried about 8 inches away from it, then looked at me as if to say "Oh good, now you can open it for me".

Now, I like squirrels. I know some people think they are pests. But I think they are great. They are smart, resourceful, and a whole lot of fun to watch. So I did what any squirrel lover would do, I opened the tupperware and threw a handful of Goldfish under his tree. For the next 15 minutes, Invader stuffed himself with cheddar crackers, and chased every squirrel who even looked twice at his loot.

A little later, the crackers were gone, and Invader hopped on the stroller again. I pointed him out to Libby, and she ran over to him. He hopped on his tree, and maintaining a height of about 2 feet, ran around and around and around the tree with Libby chasing him and laughing. Then she got distracted and ran away. Invader hopped straight into the snack pocket. I walked over and he jumped down and watched me as I took out a container of freeze-dried strawberries and magoes. I took out a slice of mango and held it out to him. Not even hesitant, he walked over, and just before he took the mango out of my fingers, I had a visions of "When Squirrels Attack!" and wussed out, dropping the mango on the ground. Invader snatched it up and ran up his tree.

After this we went to see the ducks, and when we got back to the playground, Invader was no where to be seen. We stayed another 45 minutes, and he didn't show up again. Apparently, he only comes to the playground to bum a meal.