baby n and sneaky squirrel

I thought my Nasturtium seeds were never going to sprout, but this morning found one little baby coming up!

I had to sprinkle coffee grounds in its pot and all the others on the balcony, because of a squirrel who's been poking around. The kids brought home handfuls of maple seed keys and the squirrel started coming onto the balcony to get them. I couldn't figure out at first how he did it- the tree branches look just too far to jump. But I saw how he goes down- he scales the brick wall! I didn't know a squirrel could do that. I cleaned up the maple seeds but he's still been coming, looking for more or stashing stuff in my pots- digging holes, knocking things over. I've already lost a little celery plant and a basil. It startles me when I hear him suddenly scrabbling on the window screen, or knocking the wind chimes into sound when the air is perfectly still. I hope the coffee smell keeps him away.

Incidentally, I saw a squirrel the other day on a walk, that had a hairless tail. Got a close look at him- he looked rather like a rat. The tail was completely naked, and looked quite a bit shorter without the long hair. Decidedly unattractive. He wasn't fat and sleek like the other squirrels either, so I wonder if he's ill, which made him loose the hair, or if the lack of a plumy tail is a disadvantage. Surely if the squirrel uses that long fluffy tail for balance when scurrying and jumping through the trees, things are harder for this one.