I watched this annoying cutie as he munched a treat of a whole pecan. Though he chose to dine in the small Red Oak tree standing in my front garden, he snatched the pecan from some other place, as only oaks with acorns live here. The oaks are stingy with acorns this year; there are fewer than normal, probably due to drought. However, it’s clear that a neighboring pecan tree is producing some yummy fruits.
Squirrel kept an eye on me, wary that I might be after his pecan.
Squirrel and I have in common a love of pecans. For me: fresh and raw, roasted in salads, added to cakes, pies, cookies, and ice cream. For squirrel, right out of the hard shell, balancing on a limb while nibbling.
Don’t fret Squirrel, I’m not after your snack, I have my own delectable pecan treat to enjoy in a few days.
I enjoyed and learned something new from this story on NPR last November about the history of and proper pronunciation for the word ‘pecan’.https://www.npr.org/2024/11/27/nx-s1-5205291/you-might-be-surprised-to-hear-how-the-word-pecan-is-supposed-to-be-pronounced
My Gardener Says... 
You can always count on squirrels for a high C.Q. (cuteness quotient).
Pecans are among the few native foods to have become a commercial crop.
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I didn’t know that, though it makes sense and certainly pecans are used in many recipes in many countries.
As to squirrels, as exasperating as they can be in the garden, they’re just so damn cute!! And they know it.
I’m going to add this to the end of this post, but I enjoyed this story on NPR last year about the history of and proper pronunciation for the word ‘pecan’. https://www.npr.org/2024/11/27/nx-s1-5205291/you-might-be-surprised-to-hear-how-the-word-pecan-is-supposed-to-be-pronounced
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In New York I grew up with the pronunciation pe-cán, with stress on the second syllable.
Here’s a bit more on the etymology. How a borrowed word comes to be pronounced in the receiving language may depend on the dialect in which the word was encountered. Sometime more than one version of the same word gets borrowed, a good example being English tea and chai. Tea matches up with French thé, Italian tè, and German Thee, which came from a Chinese dialect where the initial consonant had a t-like sound. Chai, along with Portuguese chá and Russian chai, came from a Chinese dialect where the initial consonant had a palatalized sound.
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The guy shares our good taste, lol! 🐿️
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They do love’em!
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I grew up Pennsylvania Dutch, and we said it like “peekin’ in the window”. In Texas, I was corrected with that word and many others. I ended up with two sets of vocabulary, one for TX and one for PA.
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Sorta makes you bi-lingual, eh? 🙂
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Smart squirrel, and a cutie, too. Though I’m not making a pecan pie this year for Thanksgiving, it’s one of my favorites. Maybe for Christmas…
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That’s squirrels for ya: cute-n-smart. Too smart, I’d say…
I’m making a cranberry torte for Thanksgiving, but a pecan pie the next day. Too many calories to count!
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Pecans sure are a commercial crop — and a big one. There are several pecan orchards I know of in Texas, although the really big operations tend to be in Georgia, etc. I used to give my squirrels shelled pecan halves, but now I intersperse them with those still in the shell, since the gnawing they have to do to get at the nut is important for keeping their teeth under control. They can grow inches every year, and they have to gnaw to wear them down. Another treat they enjoy are cypress balls. I always know when those are ripe, because the ground suddenly is covered with hulls beneath the trees.
It’s not Thanksgiving without pecan pie. I use a filling that’s eggs, melted butter, sugar, and vanilla — no Karo syrup for me!
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ps: I thought of you when I came across this article about Tbilisi’s mural fest. It’s wonderful!
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Everywhere I look now, it seems like Tblisi is in the news! Those are just stunning, each one. I did see some art similar, though not of that scale. It’s a big city and we stayed mostly in one area. Thanks for the link!
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They do need to gnaw and gnaw they do!! Nice that you feed them native things, which is so appropriate. I feed my backyard thugs peanuts and they’ve become quite…friendly. There’s one that greets me every morning and I have to shoo him away from my feet! I’m limiting what I feed them as I think they need to forage for themselves, but it’s still fun to see them snatch a peanut and start working on the shell.
I’m trying a new crust recipe when I make mine on Friday, it’s not for Thanksgiving, but close enough!
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A few years ago I hulled some black walnuts and set them on the porch to dry. In short order the squirrels stole all of them. I learned to bring hulled black walnuts into the house to dry.
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Those little scamps really like their nuts!
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