It’s Esondite Day. (Escondite is a Spanish word for ‘hiding place.’)

A couple of times in the fall, I collect pounds of acorns, choosing them carefully from the ground and climbing trees to shake the limbs like Cool Hand Luke. If anyone driving down the hill on Appleby wondered why the tree was shaking, now they know. 

This time, I also have a bag of dried corn for these darn squirrels. 

And of course, the perfect place to place them. 

If you didn’t know, this time of year is prime hoarding and burying time for our local squirrels. They absolutely love getting green ones so that they can bury them and let them ferment and ripen. It saves the squirrels time and energy. Granted, you’re going to have to shake the tree like hell or climb one to get the really good green ones that won’t fall for a while.

I would not have guessed that it would be 80° on October 23rd, or that actual mosquitoes with nip at me as I loaded the tree and the fence line with treats.