Squirrel

Gillen came home tonight to that sense of victory that only a hunter or a birder can appreciate - he had succeeded, for the second time, in catching a squirrel in his trap. Let me hasten to tell you that it is a humane trap. The squirrel was running in circles, pausing only long enough to momentarily attach himself upside down to the roof of the trap, looking for the secret door. You could hear loony tune music as you watched him. Unless you were Gillen, the trapper, who heard "I am the Champion". He and Jesse called Tuki. Gillen grabbed the trap and ran with it into the yard. And the following premeditated crime was set in motion.


Now before I go any further with the story let me explain, to any squirrel-loving readers, like my SIL Naomi (who came to our hemisphere for a while from her native Sydney and fell in love with these never-seen-in-Australia rodents) that there was good reason for the murderous feelings in my son. The squirrels have become way too adept at raiding the bird feeders. Any kind of feeders. They can even cling to the sides of a round plastic feeder and scarf down our best black oil sunflowers seeds, all while spinning in circles AND being yelled at by angry humans. Look what they did to the feeder that Jesse built:



This used to hang on an arbor outside our kitchen window and attract beautiful finches, chicadees and tit-mouses. It has lost a side, in it's dramatic fall and the kids feel it would be a waste to replace it.

As for the fate of the squirrel - I am happy to report that it escaped. It was fun watching Tuki bouncing in every direction, trying desperately to claim it.

Gillen was depressed enough to not eat dinner, until he got hungry an hour later.

So, the war continues.