Nature at its Best

Nature is certainly smarter than we are. We have been filling bird feeders for years, and feeding peanuts to our family of squirrels. Each year our birds bring their new babies to our yard and teach them how to feed. The Mother squirrels live in trees across the road from our yard. As soon as their babies are big enough to cross the road, she brings them to a very old nest in our giant maple tree - just a few feet from our feeders. She keeps them up in that nest until she has recovered her long spell with no food, and then she teaches them the cautious way of feeding at our yard.
But there is more to it than that, as I found out today and tonight. The mother birds brought a host of babies today and they landed on our big bird bath. The mother drank her fill and then went to the feeders. The babies sat looking at their reflections in the water, but did not drink. Why? Then the mothers returned, one at a time, with seed and fed the babies, who were waiting there. When all had been fed the mother drank again, and the babies, watching them, also learned to drink safely. In the meantime several larger birds took a bath and sprayed all over the place.
I tossed out the days ration of peanuts (not in the shell) to my squirrels and suddenly four pigeons and 2 bluejays swooped down and gathered up the peanuts before the squirrels could. I had never seen them steal the peanuts before. No wonder the squirrels remained hungry. Then tonight, around l0PM> I smelled a skunk in the area and wondered where it was. They are rare around here. Well, taking a peek out the side window ( there is a yard light that illuminates our feeders out there) I spotted the skunk digging up the peanuts the squirrels had buried. Then he wandered off down the yard, across the street, and to the yard area behind an apt. house over there. Apparently, his home is in that area and he is using our yard for feeding purposes also.
So I will switch back to peanuts in the shells and hope the squirrels take them back to their nests and not bury them in our yard. Hmmm.
My advice is never try to fool Mother Nature, or the wild animals that know her. Ha!