6 KiB
| layout | volume | edition_number | date | status | title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| edition | I | 1 | 2026-07-03 | published | ACORN HOARD AT RECORD HIGH AS WINTER LOOMS |
The forest community paused this week to honor Hazel Bushtail, whose famous chattering calls guided three generations of saplings to safety. Above, she is shown beside the Grand Oak where she nested for nineteen seasons.
With her trademark flick of the tail, Hazel Bushtail announced her retirement to a crowd of well-wishers gathered beneath the old hickory. For nearly two decades she served as lookout for the eastern grove, sounding the alarm at the first sign of hawk or hound.
Neighbors recalled her tireless winters and the countless caches she helped recover when the snow buried every familiar landmark. "She never lost a single nut she meant to find," said one tearful admirer.
OAK HOLLOW, Oct. 9 — In a rousing address delivered from the top rail of the garden gate, the mayor pledged that no barrier would stand between the colony and its rightful share of the sunflower seed.
The speech drew chittering approval from rooftops across the district, though several elders urged caution against the resident terrier.
BACKYARD CITY, Oct. 9 — The cardinal long thought to rule the hanging feeder abandoned his perch at dawn, leaving the bounty unguarded for the first time in memory.
Large, Well-Whiskered Group
Sets Out For The Pecan Grove
With the venerable Elder Nutkin presiding, twenty-nine young foragers received their parting counsel this morning before departing for the pecan grove at the far edge of the meadow.
The elder delivered a warm, sincere send-off, reminding each that "a nut buried in haste is a nut lost to spring." The youngsters, well-known throughout the hollow, listened with twitching ears.
"If you know what a hard winter is," Elder Nutkin instructed, "you do not expect sympathy — you bury, and you remember." He closed with his best wishes and a flick of the tail.
TOMORROW
After days of probing into the colony's winter reserves, the granary committee will release its long-awaited cache count tomorrow morning at first light.
Various forager figures, including all members of the spring litter, have been summoned to the council stump to verify the tally before the frost settles over the grove.
Today, committee members made an inspecting tour of all parish hollows and storage knots.
Partly cloudy tonight. Friday considerably crisper, scattered acorn-fall likely. High temperature near 62°.
Colony Claims Million Sunflower Seeds Secured By
Fast-Moving Tail Brigade as Cat Warns Of Fence
(By Nutwire Service)
The grove's boldest and greatest offensive against the well-stocked pantry reached flood tide today. A stream of proclamations and announcements from the council stump claimed that foraging forces had smashed to within twelve feet of the pantry door.
The whole backyard front has been broken, scouts reported, with sixty to seventy bird feeders — possibly a thousand seeds each — emptied and the squirrel position considered all but unassailable.
Down in the hollow, there was no denying the festive mood that has settled north of the old oak, at least for the moment. The brigade swept the lower garden, leaving behind the scattered and scratched-over patches of the once-tidy flower bed.
The council painted a picture of foragers advancing swiftly toward the porch under clear skies and along dry roads, leaving behind the bewildered and largely indifferent house cat.
It was revealed that the lead forager made a statement at the crack of dawn, declaring the offensive everything she had — risking everything in a desperate dash for the suet cake before nightfall.
Resident birds, for their part, criticized the willful acrobatic actions of the brigade, warning it was unlikely to spread to colder weather without consequence.
(Continued on Page 18-B)