A couple of weeks ago, I saw a squirrel loafed out on the top of the telephone pole outside our kitchen window. It seemed to be staring in, willing me to put seed out on the ledge of the kitchen window. It would then be able to walk the wires to gain access. I'm not really supposed to feed birds there. That window is right over the back door of our building. But I figured one little handful wouldn't hurt. It would snow soon, covering any evidence of empty seed shells below.

But the squirrel ignored the seed. A week went by. It snowed. Nobody ate the seeds, nobody noticed the seeds. That is, until today, a curious chickadee found the stash and quietly spirited away the black-oilers one by one (leaving the white millet untouched--no surprise there).

Although, one seed did escape the little bird. You could almost here a Homer Simpson-esque, "Doh!" as it slipped over the side.

Now, let's see how much I toe the line and sneak bird seed on this ledge over the winter. I think as long as the pigeons and house sparrows don't find it, I can manage my bird feeding addiction.