Problem solved!  So there’s a lot of ideas out there to solve the whole squirrel-on-the-bird-feeder issue and apparently the bb/pellet gun is frowned upon.  Anyway, my son proposed that we address the tree and not the feeder by wrapping a piece of sheet metal around the tree so the squirrels couldn’t launch themselves.  Nice, but we didn’t go that route.  And then there’s the Yankee Flipper (Whipper, Flipper and Tipper also available).  To costly and is kinda mean.  We went with a cleverly designed bird feeder that closes with the weight of a squirrel, but allows the much-lighter birds to feed.  And I put the old feeder in a different location for the squirrels.  Win-win-win!  However, now the squirrels are apparently ticked and have begun chewing through the hanging wire which is simply old landline telephone cable.  The adventure continues…

Not sure I’m going to refill the “squirrel feeder” as much. It’s kind of entertaining to watch them try to get the feed from the other one.