It's Cone Chucking Season

The squirrels are getting ready for winter. It started yesterday, they are busy chucking cones from the tops of the coniferous trees in the yard. Currently they are in a tree where a good percentage of the cones they chuck land on the metal roof of the barn which always makes the dogs wonder what the heck is happening. Emmi is fascinated by the falling cones, that is until one almost hits her. She checks them out trying to figure out why they smell like squirrel. There is a bumper crop of cones this year do to the wet spring and hot summer. The tops of some of the trees are bent with the weight. And since the squirrels are busy moving from tree to tree there are lots of trails for Emmi to track and lots of trees for Davie to circle! And lots of cones for me to pick up so they don't ruin the blades on the lawn mower. Because you see, the squirrels are very efficient at chucking them on the ground, but not as efficient in picking them up and storing them. But wait maybe there is a method in their madness. I pick the cones  up by the bucket full and dump them in the bush, getting pitch all over a pair of gloves in the process. So are the squirrels letting me be their gatherer? Then they just have to move them from the pile I make, hummm, will have to see what happens.

So my question is are the squirrels trying to tell us something about the coming winter???

Hey Davie, I smells them!

See told ya.

I'm pretty sure they went this way.

She says they are coming from that way.

Or maybe that way?