This past Sunday morning I sleep in till about 8 am and then began my morning routine. My husband had gotten up ahead of me, he had made the coffee and was already beginning to work on our tax box. [On a side note...our tax box is a huge box that we stuff all year long with any and all paperwork and/or receipts. Then in January we sit down and go through the entire box, separate, organize, stack, review, and determine what we will need to use for our income tax return. Every year 'the tax box' is an ordeal that we dread and which usually takes several days-but it works for us.] After I enjoyed most of my first cup of coffee feeling a coolness in the house, I decided it was time to check the stove. Often we have embers left over from the night before that I can use to restart the stove. The photo above shows the stove door open, which is a rare occasion. This morning as usual the door was closed from the night before. I asked my husband as I headed toward the fireplace if he had a chance to check the stove yet, in which he responded "Nope, I decided I needed to get on this tax box first thing." So on to the stove I go, bending down I touch the stove to see if any heat is left which is always a good indicator, the stove was very cool to the touch. I squat down with coffee in hand and open the stove door up about half way when I see........... HIM!
A little grey squirrel looking right at me and twitching his tail. Now, I am not sure in what order exactly the screams and shutting the stove door took place, but I feel certain they were quite simultaneous. As soon as I had secured the stove door shut and locked mind you, I immediately took off running toward the den where my husband was sitting in the floor sorting out the tax box. Wild eyed and quite upset I scream out...
"SQUIRREL!!!!
A. LIVE. SQUIRREL. IS. IN. THE. FIREPLACE!!!
I CAN'T TAKE THIS AGAIN, NOT ANOTHER SQUIRREL,
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO????"
Upset would be an understatement! Also, the term "WE" that I screamed out really meant YOU (to my husband).
This is not the first time a squirrel has fallen down our chimney or been an instrument of great stress for me. About two years ago another squirrel had fallen down into our fireplace while we were gone for the weekend. Unknown to us when we returned, he had managed to escape into our home by clawing his way out against the flashing. I discovered him as he ran up the curtain past me as I walked into our home, and again I was screaming about a squirrel! And then, one afternoon while I was outside potting plants into planters a squirrel dropped out of a tree absolutely right next to me. I looked at him and he at me...he darted off in one direction and I in another. The fact that this squirrel could have landed on my head just as easily as it did right next to me was something that I have yet to forget! And several other times over the past few years the squirrels and I have had run ins.
With trees comes squirrels, I know, but this is getting out of hand. My husband does not want to put a screen on our chimney due to ash build up, but I am afraid that we are going to have another discussion about that again, and I must insist. He affectionately calls me 'Squirrel Mama', or 'The Crazy Squirrel Lady', but I just do not think my ticker can take another squirrel event in my home! Thankfully this time the squirrel was still contained in the stove. The previous event, the squirrel was free ranging in our home and all I can tell you is; if you have ever seen the scene in Christmas Vacation where the squirrel is in their home... that scene is pretty true to life! With one exception, the dog chasing the squirrel around. At the time, I had two Golden Retrievers who were absolutely NO help whatsoever, mainly because I was so upset, they could not focus on anything but ME! All in all those little rodents are quite the spastic creature!
Both, cases ended in death to the squirrel because any attempt at capture and release by MY husband is not about to happen. And quite frankly I am in NO position to suggest anything other than what HE is willing to do, because I am marked useless from the initial point of discovery!
My husband travels some for his work, and I swear if this ever happens while he is gone; I will be forced to get a hotel room and possibly new clothes. All of that will depending on where and how I discover the little tree rat in my house!
Did I mention that my husband feeds these guys during the winter months corn and sunflower seeds on our back patio? He has not always cared about feeding squirrels, I think he does it just to mess with me so I can be his Squirrel Mama!
No comments:
Post a Comment