Wild Foods for NRs and not yet released squirrels!

[olorin19]

I so miss Willow trees.
But we have loquats and they are just now ready to eat. My kids love them and the wilds love them as well ��

This looks like what I have in my yard - apparently works in zones 5-7 - garden center had it named as a Japanese willow -

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden....empercode=c811

It is pretty indestructible - severe pruning just makes it grow more vigorously

[olorin19]

Willow buds opening up for Saint Patrick's Day -

[olorin19]

Catkins starting to appear - wild squirrels now more actively feeding on them.

I give the Japanese willow a vigorous trimming every year after catkin season, as otherwise it would take over half my yard. This year I am going to experiment with freezing short sections of branch with catkins on them to feed next winter once fresh wild food becomes scarce. (Early last fall, when there was still growth happening, I cut and froze sections of branch that were just bark with green underneath. Guro was happy to chew on and strip these over this past winter.)

[olorin19]

Here is a branch segment where Guro has eaten all the catkins - compare to branch segment covered with catkins in previous post - Guro went through four branch segments with over 20 catkins -

[olorin19]

Afternoon snack -

[olorin19]

Williow catkins getting closer to peak - lots of wild squirrels actively eating them -

[olorin19]

We are in the midst of prime season for the willow catkins now. I harvested a large amount last weekend and froze them - I will be experimenting later in the year to see whether that works or not.

Just to give an idea of how much Guro loves these catkins -
As noted in a previous post, Guro will ignore HHB, hazelnuts, and pecans and go for the catkins first when it is breakfast time.

This morning, I got even further proof of how much she loves them -
When I was opening the cage to get her breakfast, she managed to escape. This happens a few times a month, and is no big deal. With my office door already shut, I just leave the cage open and wait for her to go back inside. Usually, it is 5-15 minutes before she heads back into her cage, as Guro likes to explore the room outside her cage. This morning, however, I had catkins in my hand when she jumped out. When I propped the door open and put the catkins inside, Guro immediately went back into her cage, grabbed a branch with catkins on it, then climbed up on a perch to eat catkins.

We are just getting into the beginning of maple helicopter season, as well as lots of other buds, which will be added to her diet as they become available.

Also, we are starting to have dandelions again, another favorite. My plan for next winter is I am going to try growing dandelions inside a container on the sun porch so she has a supply all winter. (My idea is to harvest just the tops or maybe the tops with a small bit of the root, so that the roots keep regenerating more tops.)

[olorin19]

This afternoon's snack - Dandelion and some early red maple helicopters