Random Thoughts 14: I can see clearly now 2020 edition

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Youngest had his last BB tournament. The next day a player who was more advanced than the rest somehow contacted my son through Snapchat and sent a picture of them together in kindergarten or preschool. My son doesn’t remember him at all but somehow this kid remembered my son.
 
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Anybody have ideas for deterring squirrels (@BoxsterCy, maybe)? They are running rampant on the deck, cleaning up the seeds that the sparrows fling out of the feeders.

I have squirrel-proof feeders - yes, they really are! - but the vixen just can't stand having the squirrels on our deck. She regularly refers to them as "Chubby" and "Fat Boy". I said shaming them isn't much of a deterrent.
Squirrel_.jpg

As has previously been discussed, I don't think that bird's "love the taste", but I know squirrels definitely do not.

OR import some European Pine Martens. They will pursue the squirrels and eat them.

OR tame some Fishers to do the same thing.
 
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Great weekend with family celebrating some birthdays and then we went to Anastasia yesterday in DSM. Thanks to a family connection with one of the performers we were able to get a backstage tour after the show which was very interesting.
 
SUNOFA....

6.20p on a Friday night...guess who just busted out a filling that involves a good portion of her upper right front tooth...and whose dentist does not have weekend hours...or even an emergency number.

It's not painful really, but definitely uncomfortable. Don't really want to go to another dentist though...I have trust issues with dentists.
Just got a call from the dentist. 9.40 this morning. YAY!!!
 
Anybody have ideas for deterring squirrels (@BoxsterCy, maybe)? They are running rampant on the deck, cleaning up the seeds that the sparrows fling out of the feeders.

I have squirrel-proof feeders - yes, they really are! - but the vixen just can't stand having the squirrels on our deck. She regularly refers to them as "Chubby" and "Fat Boy". I said shaming them isn't much of a deterrent.

I am currently in a crease fire with the Squirrel Bobs. Been a while since I've even sniped at them with the BB gun. My neighbors were gone during the day and I am on a one way street so no peeps walking by but now we a got a dog and owner on the street and she's out dog walkin quite a bit.

I've tried the chili oil on seeds, oiled cayenne on seeds etc and didn't have much luck with it. I've trapped and murdered some but I can't win a war of attrition living so close to a blackhole with a direct connection to the oak tree and squirrel universe**. The squirrels Bob's can't get on the feeder (did some crab apple pruning to eliminate their jump pad) but like your place they hang out a lot for the spillage. Higher pole seems to have stopped the Rocky raids at night to and never built my electric pole. Sort of thinking maybe doing some sort of shocking pad for the Bobs but not sure how to set that up so I don't short it out. Don't want to use a grounding rod since I am pretty close to my house and the neighbors. My wires in a barber pole pattern around a big PVC pipe would have worked for a pole but not sure how to work the + and - for some for Bobs on the ground. Could probably do something with a woven grid pattern but could only use it it was dry with no rain.


** There are oak eaves all over the top of my snow.
 
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Speaking of pests, I am definitely not currently have bunny rat problems. Rarely even see tracks in the snow. Think the combo platter of fox, coyotes, big hawks, big owls and feral cats have taken them down to historic lows here. Even so, all of shrubs are fenced off each winter with chicken wire fence. Still got issues with the giant wood rats, white tailed variety. While I was on vacation they broke off my big winged euonymus shrub. It died last year so no biggie. Guess they were using it as a rub or something cause it's all busted up.
 
I am currently in a crease fire with the Squirrel Bobs. Been a while since I've even sniped at them with the BB gun. My neighbors were gone during the day and I am on a one way street so no peeps walking by but now we a got a dog and owner on the street and she's out dog walkin quite a bit.

I've tried the chili oil on seeds, oiled cayenne on seeds etc and didn't have much luck with it. I've trapped and murdered some but I can't win a war of attrition living so close to a blackhole with a direct connection to the oak tree and squirrel universe**. The squirrels Bob's can't get on the feeder (did some crab apple pruning to eliminate their jump pad) but like your place they hang out a lot for the spillage. Higher pole seems to have stopped the Rocky raids at night to and never built my electric pole. Sort of thinking maybe doing some sort of shocking pad for the Bobs but not sure how to set that up so I don't short it out. Don't want to use a grounding rod since I am pretty close to my house and the neighbors. My wires in a barber pole pattern around a big PVC pipe would have worked for a pole but not sure how to work the + and - for some for Bobs on the ground. Could probably do something with a woven grid pattern but could only use it it was dry with no rain.


** There are oak eaves all over the top of my snow.

We can bring Sadie up, she hates squirrels. Will scare them all away for you. Plus, people love Dalmatians.
 
I bought a nice Sig Sauer pellet pistol, and have managed to get several shots off at close range. There is no way I could have missed. But apparently it's not much of a deterrent. (I was hoping to eliminate a few, must not be enough oomph.)

I'm afraid a .22 would have neighbors calling the police, so probably won't do that.

Like you, I tried the cayenne pepper on the seeds.....but the birds didn't care for it, and I ended up calling that a bad experiment.

My Mom started using a live trap on chipmunks up North, it works pretty good but there seems to be an unending supply. Probably the same story with squirrels. Reminds me of the old joke - if you lined up all the Chinese in the world four abreast and marched them into the sea, the line would never end.

It's a joke, I'm really not a terrible person!
 
I bought a nice Sig Sauer pellet pistol, and have managed to get several shots off at close range. There is no way I could have missed. But apparently it's not much of a deterrent. (I was hoping to eliminate a few, must not be enough oomph.)

I'm afraid a .22 would have neighbors calling the police, so probably won't do that.

Like you, I tried the cayenne pepper on the seeds.....but the birds didn't care for it, and I ended up calling that a bad experiment.

My Mom started using a live trap on chipmunks up North, it works pretty good but there seems to be an unending supply. Probably the same story with squirrels. Reminds me of the old joke - if you lined up all the Chinese in the world four abreast and marched them into the sea, the line would never end.

It's a joke, I'm really not a terrible person!
Wow, I've had better luck with the pepper than either of you.
 
I am currently in a crease fire with the Squirrel Bobs. Been a while since I've even sniped at them with the BB gun. My neighbors were gone during the day and I am on a one way street so no peeps walking by but now we a got a dog and owner on the street and she's out dog walkin quite a bit.

I've tried the chili oil on seeds, oiled cayenne on seeds etc and didn't have much luck with it. I've trapped and murdered some but I can't win a war of attrition living so close to a blackhole with a direct connection to the oak tree and squirrel universe**. The squirrels Bob's can't get on the feeder (did some crab apple pruning to eliminate their jump pad) but like your place they hang out a lot for the spillage. Higher pole seems to have stopped the Rocky raids at night to and never built my electric pole. Sort of thinking maybe doing some sort of shocking pad for the Bobs but not sure how to set that up so I don't short it out. Don't want to use a grounding rod since I am pretty close to my house and the neighbors. My wires in a barber pole pattern around a big PVC pipe would have worked for a pole but not sure how to work the + and - for some for Bobs on the ground. Could probably do something with a woven grid pattern but could only use it it was dry with no rain.


** There are oak eaves all over the top of my snow.
I think we need to somehow close the portal to the prime squirrel and oak plane!
 
Randoms:
  • My house smells like blackened fish
  • Sunny out, weird for Minnesota in 2020.
  • Okay, time to slug over to the gym. Was pretty good on vacation though. Think getting into resort gym five times was a decent vacation schedule.
  • Monday ear worm There's plenty of room at the Hotel California.........
 
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Anybody have ideas for deterring squirrels (@BoxsterCy, maybe)? They are running rampant on the deck, cleaning up the seeds that the sparrows fling out of the feeders.

I have squirrel-proof feeders - yes, they really are! - but the vixen just can't stand having the squirrels on our deck. She regularly refers to them as "Chubby" and "Fat Boy". I said shaming them isn't much of a deterrent.

Pellet gun.
 
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