Autumn in Missouri

I love to watch the birds at our bird feeders, but my husband and I also enjoy the antics of the squirrels. We have a 5 foot fence that stretches across our backyard and the backyards of our neighbors. All summer the squirrels have been running along the top of the fence and not even slowing down as they jump over each of the fence posts along the way.

To get ready for the winter season, I have added several new bird-feeders to our back garden. At first I had the largest bird-feeder that is full of sunflower seeds on a 3 foot hanger. The squirrel had no problem climbing up the pole and grabbing some sunflower seeds before sliding back down the pole to feast on the seeds. My husband and I watched him for awhile and decided we needed to move the bird-feeder or there wouldn't be anything left for the birds. I have a taller double hanger near the back of the garden and I thought this would be harder for the squirrel to reach. It seemed to deter him for a time but the next day to our surprise we saw the squirrel sitting on top of the double hanger eating a sunflower.

We sat and watched for a while till we saw how he was getting up there. It seems our clever squirrel would go on the top of the fence and take a flying leap to the top of the double hanger. He would then slide down the pole till he could reach the feeder as you seen in this photo. He did this several times as we sat at our kitchen table and watched.

My next move was to put a little oil on the pole hoping it would be to slick for him to hang on. The first time he went back he seemed to sniff at the oil and then backed down the pole. I'm sure he hasn't given up that easy, so I'm anxious to see what he tries tomorrow!

I volunteer at the Butterfly House that is located in Faust park in St. Louis County. This week the colors were at their height and I took several photos as I was leaving from my shift. This photo shows the butterfly conservatory with a beautiful orange colored tree in the foreground.

I photographed these leaves in the outdoor garden behind the Butterfly House

A favorite place of mine to take autumn photos is Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri. Here are several photos I took in early October.

Autumn Colors by mbgphoto

Yellow Fall Leaves by mbgphoto

Autumn at Shaw Nature Reserve by mbgphoto