There are some things in life that just make you laugh out loud.

A few months back, I was at Paul and Donna Ingram’s home.

We were in the midst of doing a photoshoot of the house for our Vicksburg Living Magazine.

The interior of the home was to die for, and their view of the Mississippi River was not too shabby either.

And with floor to ceiling windows in the house, it was easy to enjoy the view.

I was enjoying that beautiful view when I noticed red birds at one of the couple’s bird feeders. I couldn’t believe how many of those little dudes were partaking of the seed.

I had thought about erecting a cute little bird feeder at my house, but after doing a little research on the Internet, it looked like a lot of work to keep them cleaned out.

Apparently, if bird feeders are not cleaned on a regular basis, mold and decomposing seeds and hulls can accumulate and make the birds sick.

Therefore, I tossed out the notion to get one. That was until I saw the Ingram’s bird feeder.

It was different than those I had seen on the web.

This bird feeder had a wooden frame with metal mesh that acted like a sieve, making it easy to pour in the birdseed.

And if it rained, the water could drain, which would help prevent the seed from getting soggy and moldy. The feeder also hung from a very tall pole.

I asked Donna where they had found the bird feeder, which they had at their previous home. It had been hand-made.

Well, so much for that.

I was hoping to find one for my house. It looked like it would not be a chore to keep cleaned out.

Nevertheless, I could not get that feeder and those red birds out of my mind, so I went to Home Depot and found a pretty good substitute.

The feeder was not nearly as big as the one the Ingram’s had, but it would do.

I also bought a shepherds hook on which to hang it.

It took the birds a couple of days to realize they had food at their disposal, but once they figured it out, they came to partake.

The only problem was, so did the chipmunks and squirrels.

So, I went back to Home Depot for a taller shepherds hook.

This seemed to have solved the problem until a few weeks ago.

Somehow these little rodents had figured out a way to shimmy up the pole, and they were taking turns stuffing their furry faces with my birdseed.

I immediately opened the back door and hollered at them to get out of the bird feeder. Of course, this scared them and they jumped out only to return a few minutes later.

As this continued, I became irate and once again I sought solutions on the Internet. I was looking for a way to keep Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Chipmunk out of the bird feeder.

I found several answers, and because I was a desperate woman, jumped on the suggestion I had on hand — Vaseline.

I grabbed the jar from the bathroom drawer and marched outside and liberally greased the pole and waited.

A couple of days later, I was on the phone with one of my daughters. As we were talking, I noticed a squirrel trying to make his way up the pole only to slide back down. He made two more attempts before giving up.

I had wondered if this home remedy would work and was elated when it did.

What I hadn’t expected was the entertainment it would bring. I was hooting watching that silly squirrel slowly slide down the pole.

Best laugh I’ve had in quite a while.

 

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.