Monday, June 2, 2014

That Darn Squirrel Again

      A few posts ago I told you about a squirrel that built a nest under my barbecue cover. What was humorous is that the exact same thing happened to my daughter about ten days before my episode. Of course, I gave her a rough time about her squirrel until the same thing happened to me.

     The story of my squirrel starts some time ago. She appeared last June and set up territory in my yard and several other yards. That was the first time we had a resident squirrel in this area. In August she began gathering cones for her winter larder. It was amazing how fast she could clip off spruce cones and toss them off the tree.

     In September she began building a nest somewhere. How do I know? I have covers that I use to cover plants in September to protect them from frost. The covers usually lie around the yard. I noticed that an old mattress cover seemed to be disintegrated faster than usual. Oops. Mrs squirrel was  using some fine fiber to line a nest!

     Today I reached in a wooden shed that I use for storing tools and another garden items.   All of a sudden the covers exploded and there was a thump thump and a squirrel went flying out of the shed. Oops, another nest! Sure enough a fine nest was built in the old mattress cover! So the rascal had found the old mattress cover that she used last September and just used the whole thing for a nest. What a smart critter to find the mattress cover! Now I have no photos because I didn't have the camera. And having a camera wouldn't have made any difference as the event happened so fast That I would not have had time to even reach for  camera.

    So I thought I was pretty smart by getting rid of the nest under the barbecue. I thought she wasn't coming back so I put the cover back on. Little did I know that I was being fooled. That squirrel is twice as smart as I thought she was.

45 comments:

  1. Oh they are very clever and sneaky I have found that out myself:) Hug B

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    1. I think many of us experience the challenge.

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  2. Animals are not easily fooled are they? I do think they're more clever than us sometimes :)

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    1. They have a system that works for their survival.

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  3. She's got your number, Red. She knows you give her a lot of material for her nests, it seems. Did you throw out the mattress cover or let her have her nest there?

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    1. She knows how to control me. The nest is gone as I didn't want her in the shed that I go in many times a day.

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  4. Red, just give up and admit defeat, you can fight battles and win but the knack is knowing when you have lost the war.

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    1. Well, at least there will be some calm before the next one.

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  5. Currently we've been battling mice in our shed. The darn things built a nest - complete with babies - inside the motor of the riding tractor. This did the tractor - and the mice - no good.

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    1. Mice have been there a long time before we notice them.

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  6. My neighbor had one steal his flag, twice

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  7. HaHa - pretty funny! Squirrels are very creative....pesky too.

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  8. We had a nest of field mice (twice) with little ones running everywhere under the BBQ cover one spring.

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    1. Yes, I've seen a mouse population explosion a couple of times. It seems like a good winter or lots of food and the population explodes.

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    1. They can be crafty , but leave me alone.

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  10. Squirrels run across my roof and wake me up in the mornings. They keep running back and forth. We usually find a nest in our building every spring.

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    1. It's amazing how many times they run across in a short time.

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  11. We always underestimate the persistence of animals. And, boy, can they be persistent!

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  12. Ha! The question to ask would be is that squirrel smarter than you. I've no doubt she's smarter than me.

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    1. Well, she's beat me twice. And now I think I've got her? Silly me.

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  13. Squirrels can be pesky...you will probably see babies before long:)

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    1. Well, I would have seen babies if I hadn't accidentally found the nest.

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  14. Squirrels can be quite innovative when need be. Sounds like this mama was searching for a safe place to have her babies.

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    1. I'm sure that's what she was looking for. I didn't want a nest of them in the shed that I go in every day.

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  15. That's too funny! Can I ask how high ya jumped when she came out from under the cover? :)
    Cheri

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  16. You can ask how high, but I think it was reverse that went into overdrive.

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  17. Our local squirrels like to strip bark off the western red cedar trees to line their nests. They stuff their mouths full and run off to the nest, usually high in a fir tree.
    We used to love the squirrels, but we got so many of them when we fed them, they became very destructive to our garden, eating the corn off the stalks before it matures, climbing sunflowers to eat the buds before they bloomed, picking and eating green apples, and so on. We don't love them anymore, or feed them deliberately, but they still find plenty to eat naturally.

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    1. There are many bird feeders here so squirrels have an open invitation.

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  18. They're clever and tenacious little things. Hard not to admire that.

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    1. And they also have an endless supply of energy.

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  19. We only see squirrels in the woods here and I always like to see the pretty little beasts climbing in the trees. But I can imagine you don't want nests in your own garden and a lot of babies around.

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    1. Squirrels are rather unpleasant and nasty little creatures at close range.

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  20. ha,ha one on you Red - cleaver little devil - I found a chipmunk nest in my barn this spring and the chipmunk wasn't too happy with me taking it out and cleaning everything up - then chipmunk proofing the barn, yet again! I had to capture this little smart creature and take it out of town to a new home by the Bay - they certainly can destroy a lotta stuff when they start chewing. Good story. I remember the other one back a bit too.

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    1. They're sneaky about things too as a whole lot of stuff can be damaged before you notice.

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  21. Well, I'd say squirrel-2, Red-0. LOL! Those creatures are cute, but so darn pesky!

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    1. You've got the score right! Any bets on going 3 zip?

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  22. That is such a fun story! In our case, it is the tree frogs who camp out under the BBQ, inside the door! I have to remember to check it out before I have frog's legs!

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  23. Well, tree frogs aren't very big and they do far less damage than squirrels.

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  24. Squirrels, so persistent! i was pleased that when we opened the barbecue up this spring, it was lacking the customary mouse nest! But the squirrel did shred the cover :P

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  25. That is too funny! I do hope you have a camera next time. We used to love watching the squirrel antics at our home in Illinois. They are such cheerful, SMART, persistent creatures.

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  26. Red, believe it or not I thought of you and your squirrel today. I was busy getting the deck ready for summer and went to clean leaves off the grill cover. I remembered your story and made sure to push the cover gently just in case. I'm glad to report no squirrels.

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