Things have been quiet around the feeders, squirrel wise. Well, at least as long as hubby keeps the tube on the pole oiled down anyway. The squirrels still come around, lots of them. And while the seasoned squirrels don't much bother with the pole anymore, everyonce in awhile on of the younger ones will think "what the heck, I'll try whether or not uncle Skippy says not to bother". It's funny to see them take a flying leap only to land 1/2 way up and slide all the way back down.

However, occasionally, the oil on the pole gets either worn off or dirty enough that it is no longer slick and when that happens, the squirrels are able to make it to the top and pork out on the seeds. This doesn't happen often, as the oil seems to work for a few months at a time, but it seems that hubby gets complacent and forgets about it until we notice that a squirrel has made it to the top. And when that happens hubby immediately runs out to re-oil the pole and thereby rectify the problem.

Have we won the war? Well, not really. You see... the aluminum pole around the post is sort of unsightly. I've been making noises lately that I'd really like to figure out something that is "prettier" to look at. Hubby is resistent though. He seems content to a solution, period. What difference does it make that it's not pretty? he asks.

But, I've been thinking....