Skip to main content

Squirrel! Part 5: Eviction!

After three months, several tiny holes in two bedroom ceilings, multiple failed techniques, falling from a ladder and nearly breaking my hand, and wasting $625 with Home Paramount - a squirrel was caught in our attic in less than a day. Borrowing a Havahart trap from a friend, baiting it with peanut butter, and placing it in the attic on the afternoon of February 13 the next morning we had a squirrel. Yup, on Valentine's Day we caught the little varmint.

Here's where any rational person would ask: Why didn't you do that from the start? Well, like millions of men before me, at the time my approach seemed like a good idea. Plus, guys often don't ask for help and borrow things as a last resort. Or at least that's the way I operate.

Now, left to my own devices I would've water-boarded that squirrel into telling me the location of the secret Rebel base. Or at least revealing if there were any other squirrels in my attic. Since we had 17 inches of snow outside, my first thought was shoving the caged squirrel into a snowbank and letting him suffocate.

Kim was in full support of snuffing him out, but when she saw the furry mongrel she couldn't allow me to kill it. Thus, we drove out to Glenelg, MD - 15 miles away - and dumped the squirrel into a snowy field. He scampered away, leaping through the inches of snow trying to find cover.

I had a sinister thought that maybe a hawk would find that hopping furry punk and wisk him off to his demise. But the fact was he wasn't finding his way back to our house. And, yes, a squirrel can do that if you don't take it out far enough. 15 miles is more than adequate.

So, this story arch can come to a close as we make certain there are no more varmits, patch the ceilings, and seal the breeches.



Also, check out:
Squirrel!





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

See You Around, Mike

Three weeks ago, I attended the memorial service of a dear Brother in Christ. Sunday, June 10, would've been his 56th birthday. I miss my friend. But what's sad is that I didn't miss Mike until he was gone. At least in the middle of the odd month, but definitely by the last week of it, Mike would always reach out to me with a request. It was usually to load a certain worship music video or some game show music. Sometimes, he needed some specific slides created or sound effects. Mike put a lot of thought into preparing the lessons. For certain lessons, Mike asked the kids to write something that was bothering them or something that was a sin. Then he had them take hammer and nail to that card and attach it to an old rugged cross. Mike often brought in props to physically connect the Bible stories to the kids. For example, when he dressed as an innkeeper and walked in a wheelbarrow full of fresh cow manure. He was adding the smell of a barn to the lesson just to help

May We Never Forget

On this 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I'm posting below a story I wrote on the 10th anniversary. These are my reflections on that day.  Looking at the first paragraph, it's interesting how times change. No one has asked me questions of where I was or what I was doing. I'm not sure if many of us have forgotten but more likely we're so very distracted. We've navigated almost two years of a pandemic that's taken and changed so many lives. We've navigated political and cultural changes poorly and emotionally to the point of creating more divisions.  We are not the country we were the weeks and months after 9/11. The bipartisan efforts then were refreshing. The amount of American flags flying proudly and in solidarity was inspiring. Today, it seems many despise their own country and its flag. But even this is not new. While she has stumbled over the years and will continue to do so - America will always be the most amazing country in the world. It

Reverse Discrimination of Christmas

With Christmas slowly fading from your memory, did you find yourself this year taking a stand for Christmas? I'm not talking about stealing the stand beneath the Christmas tree. Perhaps you missed it but 2009 was the year of sticking it to retailers who refused to display or say "Merry Christmas!" Boycotting secular businesses because they aren't promoting Christmas: righteous or ridiculous? I'll vote for both.