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03/26/2008: "Nuts ...."
You wouldn't expect Redondo Beach to be a haven for wild creatures, but you'd be wrong. I have raccoons that swim in my pond, and possums that snark around my trash cans. And then there are the squirrels.
Squirrels are brazen little bastards, perfectly adapted for city living. Anywhere there's cover to live in, and a source of food, you'll find the squirrels. And it's pretty incredible to see the lengths to which they'll go for a meal - don't for a second think your bird feeder is safe - they'll find a way to get the goodies.
I actually enjoy watching the squirrels, so I have a feeder that dispenses pumpkin seeds. They have to be smart enough to lift the lid on the box, but that doesn't take them long to figure out. My neighbor apparently also feeds the squirrels - peanuts in the shell, in his case - and therein lies my problem.
For the longest time, I'd find peanut shell husks scattered around my yard without a clue as to the source. It wasn't until a chance mention during a conversation did I add it up and realize they were the debris from the meal my neighbor was providing. A small price to pay, I suppose.
But now a new problem has arisen - literally. I didn't realize this, but apparently ground squirrels hoard food just like their tree-dwelling counterparts. The squirrels take a portion of the nuts they receive next door and bury them somewhere for later retrieval. That "somewhere" more often than not is apparently my back yard. A couple of weeks ago, after the rains had stopped and everything was starting to grow, I began to see a new kind of weed popping up in my rosebeds. The first time I pulled one up imagine my surprise when I found a peanut attached to the other end.
I've grown just about everything you can grow here in SoCal, but I know nothing about peanuts other than that George Washington Carver did his research using them and they got Jimmy Carter elected president. But I'm always up for an experiment, so I gathered a half-dozen of the baby peanuts and transplanted them into an unused corner of the garden. I have no idea what will happen, but it should be interesting ... if I can get the squirrels to wait their turn ... 
