Otis's Last Squirrel Barrels
“I watched a mother squirrel dig through frozen ground for an hour and find nothing.” — Why a 73-year-old Bardstown barrel maker is letting his final squirrel feeders go at a special price before another winter sets in.
The Hour That Otis Can’t Forget
It was a morning in late February. The ground behind Otis Keeling’s house was frozen hard. A gray squirrel was digging at the foot of his old oak tree.
She dug in one spot. Then another. Then another. Otis stood at his kitchen window with his coffee and watched her for almost an hour.
“She knew she had buried something there in October,” he says. “But there was nothing left. Not one acorn. She just sat there in the snow when she gave up.”
Most people never see this. They see squirrels as a nuisance. But for a squirrel, the end of winter is the hardest time of the whole year.
Why February Is Decided in October
A gray squirrel buries thousands of nuts every fall. That is its only savings account for the winter. By February, most of it is eaten, stolen, or lost under ice. The first fresh buds don’t come until spring.
But here is what most people get wrong: the hard months are not decided in February. They are decided right now. In fall, squirrels learn where the food is. They make their rounds and remember every spot that stays full.
“If you hang a feeder in February, you’re too late,” Otis says. “The squirrels at my window in February are the ones that found my barrel in October.”
- Oct – NovThe weeks when squirrels map their food. A feeder they find now is the one they come back to all winter.
- ThousandsNuts a single gray squirrel buries in fall — and it has to find them again under snow.
- Feb – MarchThe leanest weeks of the year. The buried food is running out, and nothing new is growing yet.
- One old oakCan feed a whole family of squirrels. Every oak that comes down for a new road or driveway takes that pantry with it.
On the road where Otis lives, the woods have gotten smaller every year. “When I was a boy, this was all oak and hickory,” he says. “Now there’s a subdivision and a gas station. The squirrels didn’t go anywhere. They just have less to eat.”
And That’s Why They End Up in Your Bird Feeder
A hungry squirrel will go wherever the food is. For most families, that means the bird feeder. People try greased poles, spinning feeders and hot pepper seed. Nothing works for long.
“A squirrel doesn’t raid your bird feeder because it’s greedy,” Otis says. “It raids it because nobody gave it its own table.”
A Man Who Built 90,000 Barrels
Otis Keeling spent 38 years as a cooper in Bardstown — the bourbon capital of the world. A cooper is a barrel maker. Every day, he bent white oak boards into barrels for the distilleries on the edge of town. He thinks about 90,000 of them went through his hands.
When he retired, his wife June had one wish. She wanted the squirrels out of her bird feeder. So Otis bought a plastic squirrel box at the hardware store. Six weeks later, the squirrels had chewed right through the lid.
So he did. A small round barrel, just like the big ones, with a roof on top and a clear window in the front. He hung it on the oak tree ten feet from June’s bird feeder. Within a week, the squirrels had moved over to the barrel. And the birds got their feeder back.
Within a Week, the Birds Had Their Feeder Back
What Makes Otis’s Barrel Different
A store-bought squirrel box is a square crate. Otis builds his the way he built barrels for 38 years:
The Squirrel He Calls “Colonel”
Every morning at 6:30, Otis stands at the kitchen window with his coffee. He counts the squirrels at the barrel. Some mornings there are two. Some mornings there are six.
One of them is a big fox squirrel with a notch in his ear. He has come every winter for four years. Otis calls him “Colonel.”
“If the Colonel isn’t there in the morning, my coffee doesn’t taste right,” he says, and laughs. “June says I worry about that squirrel more than about her.”
The Day His Hands Said No
Building a barrel takes strong hands. The boards have to be bent and held tight while the glue sets. For 38 years, that was never a problem for Otis.
Now the arthritis has settled in both of his thumbs. Some mornings he can’t close his hand around the mallet.
“A barrel that isn’t tight is firewood,” he says quietly. “I won’t sell a barrel I’m not proud of. So I’m done.”
For the last few winters, Otis built more barrels than he gave away. They stacked up on the shelves in his barn. Last week there were 160 on the shelves. Since this story first ran, they have been going fast.
barrels left in Otis’s barn. When they are gone, 38 years of barrel making are over.
“The Last Ones Are for the Squirrels”
A hand-built barrel like this would sell for well over $100 at a craft fair. Otis’s granddaughter Brooke told him so. He didn’t want to hear it.
“I built barrels for whiskey my whole life,” he says. “The last ones are for the squirrels. I don’t need the money. I want them on trees before the first frost, while the squirrels are still out looking.”
Brooke, a schoolteacher in Louisville, set up a small online shop for him. “Brooke does the internet,” Otis says. “I do the barrels.”
Ready in Five Minutes
- 1Hang itScrew it to a tree, a fence or a post. Screws and wall plugs are in the box.
- 2Fill itLift the lid and pour in peanuts, corn or sunflower seeds.
- 3WatchIn fall, most readers see their first visitor within a few days.
What Readers Say About Otis’s Barrels
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★★★★★
“For three years the squirrels emptied my bird feeder every single day. I hung Otis’s barrel ten feet away, and they switched over in four days. The cardinals are back.”
– Linda M., Lexington, KY -
★★★★★
“My granddaughter stands at the window every morning in her pajamas and names them. Best money I spent all year.”
– Richard T., Columbus, OH -
★★★★★
“Solid wood, and you can tell a craftsman made it. The lid is the best part. I refill it in my slippers.”
– Carol H., Evansville, IN
Questions Readers Ask
Where can I buy one of Otis’s barrels?
Only through this page. Brooke set up the shop just for Otis’s last barrels. They are not sold on Amazon or in any store.
How long will they be available?
Only as long as the barrels in his barn last. Right now there are 118 left, and they are going fast. When they are gone, Otis will not build more.
Can I wait until winter to hang it?
Otis says no. Squirrels learn their food spots in the fall. A barrel that goes up now becomes part of their daily round before the snow comes. One hung in February often sits empty for weeks.
What if it’s not right for me?
You have 30 days to send it back for a full refund. Just send a short email. No questions asked.
More From Readers
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★★★★★
“We had a hard freeze in January. Every morning there were three or four squirrels at the barrel. I kept thinking about the story of the mother squirrel digging in the snow.”
– Janet P., Bowling Green, KY -
★★★★★
“I bought two, one for us and one for my brother in Ohio. It came well packed, and it went up on the maple in ten minutes.”
– Gary W., Louisville, KY -
★★★★★
“A real bourbon-country barrel maker building little barrels for squirrels. You can’t make that up. Ours has a fox squirrel that looks just like his Colonel.”
– Donna R., Knoxville, TN