hungry hungry squirrels

I knew it was getting to be about time to harvest the sunflower seeds, but I wanted them to fill out and dry out enough for the flower bloom to fall off first.  I think, in hindsight, I should have done it this past Saturday.

I first noticed the seeds on the concrete path to my car.  Looking upward to the giant (~8 foot) sunflower, though, I saw the obvious story.



This year, some enterprising squirrel has figured out that it could climb the stalk and reach around the flower head to the seeds.  It tore off some of the outer rim of the flower head.  It was able to reach far enough beneath the edge to rub off the flower blooms from more than half of the head.  It nudged out less than half of the seeds though.

Still plenty for me to harvest seeds for next year and also eat some of my own.