This single tulip popped up in the small garden in back of our house – I had not planted it, and it looked a bit ragged – obviously some animal was taking bites out of the leaves. Probably a squirrel – it brought the bulb to that spot and buried it, so it grew…

Looking closely at the photo above, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before: another tulip stem alongside with the flower missing!

I loved the color of this single tulip and I am glad I took these photos when I did because the next day, we were sitting in our living room and Dale said, “A squirrel is eating your tulip!”

I looked and sure enough: the squirrel had bitten the flower off the top of the stem and would have absconded with it if I hadn’t charged out onto the porch and scared it away! If only the cat had been on the porch, perhaps the squirrel wouldn’t have dared to approach.

Anyway, that is the short and sad story of my one and only tulip. I miss the tulips at our old house, and have resolved to get some more tulip bulbs to plant in the fall. And I will find some sort of barrier or method of keeping those pesky squirrels away!

Posted for Cee’s FOTD 4/29/21.