.
I spotted our resident Cooper’s hawk hanging out under the flowering plum tree the other day.
.
.
It’s close to the bird feeders so you know he was there looking for lunch.
.
.
A few minutes later I spotted the husband taking a picture of something.
.
.
It was a baby red squirrel and it was scared to death.
.
.
Probably of the hawk.
.
.
So scared it clung to the husband’s slipper and had to be pried off and tucked under a shrub for safety.
.
.
We had a thunderstorm roll in recently…. and when that happens?
.
.
We head out to the Barn Mahal porch to enjoy the show.
.
.
More often than not this involves freshly tapped beer.
.
.
Unless the CO2 cartridge runs out without us knowing, making the (admittedly almost empty) kegs untappable.
😩
.
.
Hard blackberry lemonade in a frosted glass to the rescue.
.
.
With Momma Red in the distance, keeping a close eye on us.
.
.
My new garden bed is starting to fill in…
.
.
But I wish the woodchucks hadn’t eaten all my mid summer blooms. So much for strategically timed planting.
.
.
The geraniums are doing well.
.
.
I was a bit late getting these in due to my mystery illness, but they’re flourishing now.
.
.
Our Japanese Spirea surprised me this year by branching off in white on the right side.
.
.
It’s always been solid pink…
.
.
But not anymore.
.
.
Close up of its fuzzy blooms.
The bees love it.
.
.
And yes, that’s one entirely too chill red squirrel.
.
.
The red bitch is alive and well…
.
.
And driving Lord Dudley Mountcatten crazy.
.
.
She scampers all over the back deck to get his attention…
.
.
Then perches on the back of a chair in front of the window, chattering nonstop to taunt him.
So close, yet unattainable.
It’s a kitty’s worst nightmare.
😉
.
.
She’s still here.
.
.
That red demon spawn of a rodent…
.
.
And she’s been manically searching for a way in.
.
.
Of course all that scampering about searching for entry is tiring…
.
.
So sometimes, she just chills.
.
.
🥴
.
.
I feared this day would come.
And now it has.
She’s back.
.
.
That horribly annoying, utterly destructive red spawn of a demon is back.
.
.
I saw her running all over and around the back deck…
.
.
Which means she’s looking for another nesting spot.
.
.
My loyal readers will remember the hell she put us through when she had her devils brood in our eaves a while back. We evicted her, only to have her chew her way through the wall in the man cave/Barn Mahal.
.
.
She’s no good, I tell you.
A veritable rodent menace.
.
.
Lord Dudley Mountcatten flew off the couch the other day and positioned himself at the back door.
.
.
Reason?
.
.
The red menace was scampering around on the deck.
.
.
I swear she knows he’s there, cackling like mad and most importantly… unable to reach her.
.
.
She’s a regular rodent tease.
.
.
I woke up last week and found this on our kitchen porch.
.
.
And when there are red squirrel tracks?
.
.
There’s a red squirrel in the vicinity.
.
.
Sigh.
Here we go again….
😖
.
.
The husband and I were chilling in the man cave a few weeks ago…
.
.
When I noticed something on the floor…
.
.
Knowing that he used that color insulation to block off the sliding barn doors during transformation, we investigated outside…
.
.
And found proof that my nemesis is back.
.
.
That little red bitch of a squirrel was back… and building (yet another) nest.
.
.
A few pokes of the broom handle later…
.
.
And down it came.
That’s the fourth nest in a year and a half. Two in the house, two in the barn.
.
.
She’s persistent, I’ll give her that. But she’s also too damned destructive to let move back in.
Been there, done that. Still trying to fix the damage.
😡
.
.
I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning as our first real snow of the season fell overnight.
.
.
It wasn’t the 6-8 inches they predicted for our area…
.
.
But it coated everything in glorious white… so that’s alright with me.
What wasn’t a welcome sight?
.
.
The creature highlighted here.
The tiny devil who wreaked havoc with us, our house and our barn last year. The little red bitch with sharp teeth. I thought we’d seen the last of her after numerous evictions and nest busting this fall. But no…
She’s baaaack!
.
.
I know just how you feel Dudley.
.
