I
was sitting on the porch of our little cabin on the outskirts of Staunton VA’s
historic district in late December 2013, and I stumbled onto this bunch of
notes while watching the squirrels play on the feeders we attached to a little
shed adjacent to our home.
Here’s
the first take, with only one or two squirrels.
Three
or so squirrels ventured toward the feeders while I was playing yesterday, 22
December.
I
didn’t quite remember the way I worked the tune out on the first day so Take
Two is a bit off the core of the tune as I tried to lay it down the first
day. (You can hear the train that passes
through downtown Staunton in the background).
The
squirrels are getting used to the banjo, or the filming rig. I thought I’d do several more takes until we
have the critical mass of squirrels we usually have jumping all over the
feeders and using the shed as a play center.
Here's
FEED THOSE SQUIRRELS without the squirrels.
I'm still trying to get part B down just right. The tune
just came out while I was sitting on the porch and noodling around while
watching the rascals on the shed. Kind of catches their frenetic
character. I was going to call it FEED THEM SQUIRRELS but it sounded too
Hillbilly. So I stuck with the stiffer title which can sound like an
instruction – and often is. My wife Mary
issues the reminders to keep the feeders stocked with peanuts and
birdseed. The tune is at least in part
recognition that Mary did much to figure out how to attract wildlife –
squirrels, deer, bunnies, and all manner of incredible birds (Cedar Wax Wings,
Cardinals, at least two varieties of Bluejays, a whole lot of different kinds
of woodpeckers, nuthatches, and other names that I don’t remember until I look
them up in the several bird books we have lying around to help us identify
newcomers.
The squirrels here have a pretty starkly white belly, and a tinge
of red on the feed and face. In walnut
season, their little faces and paws are absolutely black from aggressively
working fallen walnuts.
Here’s my Youtube channel:https://www.youtube.com/user/brooklynbanjoboy
I
have some videos of hawks circling the homestead at feeding time, and much
earlier videos of turkey buzzards passing through.
For
a guy from Brooklyn, this is wildlife.
Play
hard,
Lew
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