Today I plan to buy a big bag of unshelled peanuts1 and perhaps a bag of dried field corn on the cob2 I’ll use those for feeding animals, not elephants3 in the Des Moines zoo4, but the squirrels5 in our back yard.
I love watching the squirrels as they zip up and down our trees6. The other day Don put a bucket7 of stale8 peanuts up in our crab apple9 tree. I wondered if the squirrels would find the peanuts there, but of course they did10. I looked out to see a bushy tail sticking out of the bucket11. Soon out came the whole squirrel who sat up on a limb eating the peanuts and spitting out the shells12. The space below the tree is littered with peanut shells by now13. Don says that the squirrels also were trying to bury14 the peanuts in our strawberry bed15. Who knows? We may have a mixture of strawberry and peanut plants next year. Stranger things have happened. We have had some “volunteer” corn16 come up from corn grains17 the squirrels have buried.
We’ll also be buying a big bag of bird seed18. Feeding the birds is Kim’s project19. As soon as fall comes she starts thinking about how the birds will find food for the winter, so she makes sure they do20. The squirrels also eat the bird seed out of the bird feeders21, and that irritates22 Kim because she intends it for the birds. In addition, both birds and squirrels spill23 enough seeds, peanuts, and corn for the rabbits and occasional raccoons24 and possums25 to eat. As, I said in the beginning, we do feed the animals that visit our yard. We just don’t see the possums and raccoons often because they visit us at night. Some of our friends have deer26 visit their yards regularly. We don’t, probably because our dog Blitz barks at them and frightens them away. The squirrels know she can’t catch them even if she chases them because we have lots of trees for them to climb.
The squirrels also know that our neighbors two houses down have a big walnut tree27. The walnuts are falling now so we also see squirrels running through our yard with big green-husked walnuts28 stuffed in their cheeks29. All in all, Central Drive30 is a good place for both people and animals.
Notes:
1. unshelled peanuts: 带壳的花生
2. dried field corn on the cob: 干的玉米棒子
3. elephants: 大象
4. the Des Moines zoo: 德梅因动物园
5. squirrels：松鼠
6. zip up and down our trees: move rapidly or speedily up and down the trees (在我们家的树丛中飞快地上穿下跳).
7. bucket：桶
8. stale: no longer fresh so are not good for humans to eat (不新鲜的).
9. crab apple tree: a variety of apple tree which forms very small, sour, apple fruits, and which is often grown for the beauty of the flowers in early spring (沙果树，苹果树的变种，果子很小有酸味，早春开花，很美，常因花美而养树。).
10. they did: they found the peanuts there.
11. a bushy tail sticking out of the bucket: 一条毛松松的尾巴伸在桶的外面
12. spitting out the shells: 把壳吐出来
13. The space below the tree is littered with peanut shells by now: 现在树下面撒满了花生壳。
14. bury: cover with soil (掩埋).
15. strawberry bed: a special place where strawberry plants grow to produce fruit in the spring (种植草莓的苗床).
16. volunteer corn: corn plants that are not planted by a person, but which are from seeds buried by squirrels, or come from seeds which were dropped from plants and land in fertile soil (自己长出来的玉米).
17. corn grains: individual corn seeds (玉米粒)
18. bird seed: 鸟食
19. project: a specific job done by a person (项目).
20. she makes sure they do: she makes sure they find food for the winter.
21. bird feeders: structures into which bird seed may be placed to feed birds in one’s yard (喂鸟的容器).
22. irritates: makes one unhappy or angry (惹人生气).
23. spill v. to drop accidentally from a container, bucket, bag, dish etc.
24. raccoons (浣熊): medium mammals living in the wild, chiefly gray in color with a black face mask and rings of dark fur on the tail. These often feed at night and from gardens, eat garbage or other food thrown out in the yards.
25. possums: 负鼠
26. deer: 鹿
27. walnut tree：核桃树
28. green husked walnuts: 带绿皮的核桃
29. stuffed in their cheeks: packed tightly into their mouth area (塞满嘴，可见腮鼓起来)
30. Central Drive: 作者住的地方