I Have A Heart

Yesterday I talked about those pesky, annoying squirrels that were taunting me and draining our bank account with their voracious, unstoppable appetites. Truly, I wouldn't mind feeding them if they EVER got full. But they don't. They eat and eat and eat and invite their friends in to do the same. Then they hang on and swing on the feeder evidently trying to get it to fall while reaching their nasty little paws in and swiping out every seed and nut they can get their hands on.

Maybe it's because I once heard them described as rats with fluffy tails that I started to turn against them. I know when we first moved here I felt kind of left out because we didn't have squirrels. And when I spotted this little guy ten years ago I thought he was one of the cutest little animals EVER.

So cute that this was one of my favorite pictures for a long time. But their over population and their rude, annoying habits have finally gotten the best of me. They caused me to get so irrational that when I had my shoulder surgery, I asked Mr. Right if, in lieu of flowers, he'd get me a live squirrel trap. He didn't.

His solution was to buy bird seed that the squirrels wouldn't be interested in and that worked kind of. But it turns out that some of my favorite birds weren't interested in it either.

So when I was well enough to shop and carry something in my unaffected hand, I bought one myself. It's a Hav-A-Hart live animal trap. What could be wrong with that? I do have a heart - really.

So we set the trap. A couple of days later there was a frantic little squirrel in it. Since Mr. Right was working a double that day, I took the little guy to what appeared to be a very squirrel-friendly environment with water and lots of trees and even other squirrels and set him loose. It felt good but bad. I was oh so glad that he was gone but I worried that he was nervous. (I swear he cried in the car on the way to his new home.) I worried that he wouldn't get along well with the other squirrels in the area and that he'd have a hard time acclimating to his new environment.

But at the first opportunity (the next evening), I asked Mr. Right to reset the trap. Sure enough we caught another one. And I felt better about taking him to the same habitat where hopefully he'd hook up with the old friend that I released there a couple of days prior.

We set the trap again. Before I went to Physical Therapy that morning I checked the trap and it was empty. I came home in mid afternoon and it looked like we'd caught another one - a really big one this time. So the minute Mr. Right got home, I told him we needed to release the large squirrel we'd caught. He agreed and we went out for a closer inspection and that big old trap was fur from front to back and top to bottom - solid fur.

I told Mr. Right that I didn't know what it was but it wasn't a squirrel and I thought it was dead. Then the raccoon's ear twitched and I knew that we'd caught a real koi pond enemy. A raccoon can decimate a koi pond in no time. They're clever and determined and can circumvent almost every protection a human can install. They tear up plants, knock over and break any decorations in their path and eat koi. Or, if they're not particularly hungry, they just bite their heads off and leave the parts scattered around the pond. No, you don't want raccoons anywhere near your koi pond.

So we took him for a ride too. We went farther this time, at least four miles 'as the crow flies', and found a wooded area with a large water feature in the middle of it. As soon as we opened the door the big fellow backed out. He was absolutely enormous. Mr. Right swore he was as big as a dog. I'd say knee high when he was standing tall. He immediately took off through the woods, splashing right through the middle of the large swampy pond ......... on a bee line toward our house. We found out later that you're supposed to take them at least ten miles to preclude their eventual return. Ugh! I'm just hoping that he has trouble finding his way across the interstate and has a fear of large bridges.

So maybe those doggone pesky squirrels saved our koi pond. I don't know. All I know is that we've relocated two more squirrels and I'm not ready to stop. These varmints are country animals after all and shouldn't be in the city. Mr. Right knows of two friends who were severely bitten by squirrels. So I'm thinking the country is the place for them to be - away from people, especially children.

And if I have anything to say about it, that's where every squirrel for miles around will end up. We're at four and counting....

Bird Feeding and Watching

We had such a difficult winter that I became concerned for our struggling feathered friends and finally bought a bird feeder. Within a couple of days we had a pretty respectable variety of visitors.

See how cute they are? And not only are they fun to look at, they're fun to listen to also.

Life was better despite the cold and snow but then as it began to warm up a little, we had more, less welcome visitors.

One day as I was exercising, I glanced out the window and the bird feeder was hanging sideways. I asked Mr. Right why it looked like that and he said, "oh, because there's a squirrel hanging on it". Sure enough, a squirrel had it tilted sideways so the seed could pour out more easily as he assisted it with his paw - reaching in and dragging out more and more seeds. He had his tail wrapped around the front of the feeder which for some reason added to the offensive sights.

Soon more and more squirrels came. I understand that they have to eat too and I'm really not adverse to feeding them .... except they never get full. It's unbelievable. And they're so bold. I finally started trying to scare them off. But they weren't scared of me. When I came out the door, they just looked at me while munching the birdseed that was filling their cheeks. No I had to go almost right up to them before they'd scamper off just far enough for me to leave and then they'd calmly come back.

You would think I'd have pictures of some of them but the truth is that when I saw them I spent my energies trying to get rid of them and didn't even consider photographing them.

Finally, they were so bold and so annoying that I decided it was time to take action. Tomorrow I'll write about what we decided to do and how that has worked out for us.

You Capture - Smile

Beth's You Capture subject this week is smile. So not only am I staying true to her subject, I'm using her subjects.

Today I got to spend some time at her house playing with Eli and visiting a little in general. I missed 10,000 smiles that I could have and should have captured from Eli but I did capture a couple from his older siblings.

They have such beautiful smiles.

For more smiles, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

Something's Going On

Yesterday was an unusual day at my house. I had people coming. The first wave arrived at about 9 a.m.

No, it wasn't long lost relatives coming for an extended stay. This is just some of the equipment that these strangers brought with them.

Of course, they didn't stay strangers long. They quickly got to work and made themselves right at home - which is what I invited them to do. Finally, everything was ready.

And we did our video. I can't say too much more except you'll see the results in a few weeks. Oh, and we'll have a giveaway.

I have a little trepidation about how the video will turn out but I'm really excited about the gift basket someone will win!

And They're Back

Way back in the beginning of March, I finally made it out to Striebel Pond again. It was cold and blustery - not at all pleasant - but the trip gave me great pleasure because the swans were back. Not the whole family of course. The parents must have ditched the six kids somewhere far south of here. But Mom Swan and Dad Swan were back and that's not only a sure sign of Spring but also a sure sign that soon everything would be back to normal.

Then last weekend, my second daughter, Amy, and I headed out there again and I was thrilled to see that Mom and Dad Swan have been busy building a nest. Mom Swan was preening and performing her evening toilette. It was a little worrisome though because she was so conspicuous standing there with very little foliage to camouflage and hide her.

Dad Swan spotted me right away and I know he remembered me because he soon swam off.

I spotted him again on the other side of the island with his feathers in battle fluff, reminding the geese of what would happen if they tried anything funny this year.

Then as I circled back toward their nest, I saw that Mom Swan had finished her toilette and had settled down into a much less conspicuous position.

And once again I felt like the world was turning in greased grooves. I only wish I had visited a few times during the last month to watch them build their nest.

You Capture - Fun

Beth's You Capture subject this week is 'Fun' and, for me, it was a good week for it. Not only could I capture 'fun' at Eli's birthday party, but there were extra grandchildren in town to capture too.

It was great capturing the kids having fun outside.

Even if their methods were slightly unorthodox.

And the kids had lots of fun posing at a local restaurant with one of the locals.

And fun doesn't begin to describe watching Beth and her sister dance. Yes, she's not only a great writer.

But nothing was more entertaining than watching a couple of one-year-olds when they got their hands on the wii-motes that are usually well out of their reach.

You can see that they can hardly believe their good fortune.

And they know all about how to play with them.

They've seen the big boys do it often enough to know that it just involves pressing buttons and looking at the TV.

They were definitely having fun but not nearly as much fun as their grandma was having photographing them.

For more 'Fun', visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

You Capture - Vibrance

Beth's You Capture this week was Vibrance and I'm hoping the old adage, Better Late Than Never, is true because my You Capture submission is definitely late. Hopefully, it's also vibrant:


For more Vibrance, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

Tomorrow - back to normal - and, no, that's not an April's Fool joke.