Last night, in the middle of the tornado warning alert and our phones and our alarm system screaming in unison that a tornado is imminent:
Gordon: Is that a tornado siren of a flash flood siren?
Me: Who knows?
Kid 2. Kid 2 knows. They used to just do sirens for the tornados, but now they added flash floods, and so the tone of the siren is different. Apparently, that was the flash flood siren.
We’d managed to catch Batty, our outside cat, and secured her in the laundry room. The trust is broken again, and she will have to get over it for the next 6 months, but she didn’t fly into the storm. The tornado and hail missed us, so hey, it’s a good day. So on brand for Central Texas though. Any other day – sunny, hot, blue sky. Memorial and 4th of July – massive thunderstorm every year.
Gordon is recovering from surgery. We had to take the original bandage off and sealed the incision sites with waterproof bandages so he could take a shower, and his incisions are dry, the right color, and seem to be healing well. He can raise his arm all the way up, but the shoulder is still tight. He’s been going to physical therapy and his post-op is next week. Hopefully they will clear him for swimming, because that really seemed to help.
Yesterday Grace Draven came over before the storm, and we hung out and talked shop. I’m so excited for the new novella she is working on. It’s a brand new world and it is so shiny.
In other news, we are engaged in a tower-defense military campaign called, “Protect the bird feeder.” We both really like watching birds from the office window, so we set up a birdfeeder. We get all kind of birds and it’s awesome. We also get squirrels and the deer, who wreck the birdfeeder. The deer are the worst, so we now installed some strategic garden fencing around the bird feeder in concentric circles so they can’t step over it.
The squirrels are a bigger problem. Protecting against them is impossible so instead we settled for the misdirection.
Look how cute he is at his picnic table.
That’s amazing. Thank you for cute squirrel pictures!
The squirrel picnic table is adorable.
I am surprised you don’t also get skunks eating all the dropped birdseed.
My experience with those fuzzy rats is that the misdirection will only work so long before they decide to hit both sites. Good luck!
I’ve heard them called tree rats. It’s funny, but I think they’re cuter than rats.
Aggressive tree climbing rats. Used to get in our dorm rooms (old buildings, no AC, no window screens) and destroy stuff. Had squirrel blood on my desk from a fight over a muffin I forgot to secure. Chew into attics and cause problems also. I like the low voltage shock approach ( was the only thing that kept our lab mix from climbing the fence). Don’t feed and increase population.
Try squirrel proof feeders. My favorite is the one that starts spinning when activated by the squirrel’s weight. It will keep on spinning until the squirrel is flung off. This doesn’t seem to damage the squirrels as they usually try several times before giving up.
My favorite as well
Wow, that sounds great.
I have this feeder for the past 15 years and no squirrel or deer have managed to get the food. The birds love it. https://a.co/d/8ZXZW6t
Made by Brom.
Thanks for the cute squirrel photos! Have you seen the squirrel obstacle course guy on Youtube? it is hilarious and awesome!
Mark Rober. My husband and son love watching his youtube Channel
Squirrel Olympics – so awesome!!!
My kid and I love these!
My grandparents had problems with squirrels getting into the bird feeders, too. They put suet in their feeders. The were in central Michigan so they got blue jays and cardinals and yellow finches — all the pretty male birds. If I recall correctly, they had a wire screen up around the bird feeder. The holes were small enough for birds but too big for squirrels. Not that the squirrels didn’t try, but I don’t think they were too successful. My grandmother was also known to sit outside with a glass of tea or lemonade and a gun filled with birdshot to discourage the squirrels and chipmunks.
You should check out Backyard Squirrel Maze by Mark Rober on YouTube when you need a laugh. It is hysterical!
I was going to say the same thing! Super entertaining 😄
That picnic table with the umbrella is SO CUTE. I love it.
Have you tried a metal slinky? That’s how I keep the squirrels out of my bird feeder.
I used to have a clean plexiglass bird feeder with aluminum pegs for the birds to perch. I hung it from a clothesline with pulleys for easy access. The squirrels learned they could jump and reach the feeder. So after the next refill I moved it about 3 feet further away. Then they tightrope walked out to the feeder. So I hooked up a 9 volt battery in such a way that when the squirrels hung down to steal the seed they’d get a 9 volt shock ⚡️ That solved the theft issue.
If you haven’t seen this squirrel management, I highly recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg&vl=en
I confess – I am an engineer.
That is adorable
My friend at work has rescued four squirrels over the last few years. I love watching her videos about them and how they orient them for the outdoors etc. This spring she had three squirrels rescued. She made a huge bird house to be their first nest after they were comfortable with being outside and she cut up their blanket for them to use as part of their nest. They all the pieces in and it was precious to watch. My friend knew how much I loved that video so took a photo of them grabbing a blanket piece,and gave it to me. Of the three squerils this spring only one still comes by to their deck for seeds and a visit. I love your misdirect and that picnic table is precious! Cheers.
Glad you and Gordon are safe from the severe weather. It’s been pouring rain in the DFW area this past weekend. Didn’t have any tornadoes. Whew!
Cute picnic bench and umbrella for the squirrels. Hopefully the misdirection works, and the birds get their food.
Can’t wait to be able to buy Grace’s next book. From the newsletter I received from her a few months ago, this new series is going to be really good. 😀
I love Grace Draven’s books! I started reading/listening to her thanks to your recommendation. She’s fantastic! Thank you!
Also check out this squirrel / Mission Impossible ad from 40 years ago … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9GBl7UmVs
I feel we should be exact and point out that this advert is actually 35 years old, just in fairness to those young people who remember when it actually came out.
I feel old for some reason suddenly. . .
I have squirrels in combat boots dancing on my roof at 6 a.m. most mornings. The mobile home park I live in is next to a county forest preserve, so there are plenty of the cheeky little fur people, and they have plenty of food. Occasionally, there will be one sitting on my lawn furniture looking for a hand out, but I always tell them “sorry, no trick-or-treats here”.
That’s adorable
If you have bird feeders mounted on a stand alone pole, encase the pole with stove pipe. It isn’t aesthetically pleasing, per se, but squirrels (and raccoons) can NOT climb it. The entertainment value of watching them try is priceless.
A Slinky can be fun for everyone too
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1645174286064882
so very creative, love it, thanks for sharing
omg! I love the picnic table!
Hopefully Gordon is feeling better soon. I had some fun arthritis cleaned out of my AC shoulder joint the year before last, and I feel like a new person now. PT took forever, but it was worth it.
Keep ducking, going for shelter and whatever else protects you and yours from the mercurial weather that y’all have. Huh different siren sounds, makes sense.
so cute that picnic table.
Glad the flash floods and tornados missed you! Also glad that Gordon is recovering well.
I put out bird food in the freezy snowy time this winter (about a week here in Washington state). The birds were happy, but the squirrels were even happier ( destroyed my first squirrel proof feeder). I finally just put the food out later in the day and the birds got to it usually first. If the dogs heard or saw the squirrels they raced out, but the birds and feeders were in an area the dogs couldn’t get to, but their racing out did scare the squirrels away, for awhile. I used to really like squirrels, until they started chewing these holes into our attic and barn! Smart guys!
If you can’t beat them, welcome them with their own feeder. There’s a guy on the net who has created elaborate feeder obstacle courses for squirrels. They are really intelligent or just hungry.
Arbor day sent me a bird feeder this year. My and my neighbors cats consider it an all you can eat buffet. I tried putting it up where they can’t get it but birds dump the seeds out and then eat them off the ground. The cats stay away from my parrot… but the damned pigeons are just stupid. No squirrels in my yard. The cats get them.
That is such an awesome idea dor squirrel distraction! Im still bummed about our birdfeeder… I had to take it down because it was attracting rats.
Lololol!
I told my ex he was putting up squirrel feeders when he put up the bird feeders. He was constantly at war. Good luck
Squirrels are furry ninjas 🥷
Have you watched Mark Rober on YouTube with his squirrel Olympics. He was having the same issue so he engineered an obstacle course! You should watch it it’s hilarious and entertaining!
cute picnic tables for animals – https://www.instagram.com/chunk_the_groundhog/
😀 😀 😀
That picnic table is adorable! And presumably it made it through the storm?
Tornados are terrifying (as are flash floods, of course). We live in fire country out here in So Cal and you just wonder when it’s your turn to have your house burn down. We’ve been evacuated twice in the 20 years we’ve lived here, so it just feels like a matter of time. But there really isn’t anywhere in the country where you are completely free of weather terror.
Anyway, thanks for the cute pix! Have a lovely week.
PS: Grace Draven! Yay! *fangirling*
That squirrel is adorable at his little picnic table. Omg just the kind of kindness that I love.
💗
I wish misdirection would work in my yard.
the squirrel proof bird feeder closes under the squirrels weight but the squirrel figured out how to swing the feeder until the trays dumped out.
we had to take it down since the bears are awake but we love the red Cardinals in the winter.
tried misdirection with rabbits by planting a field of clover. they hop over it to my perennial bed, bite off but don’t eat the toxic leaves and flowers. WHY????? even the chili powder didn’t stop them.
The picnic table an umbrella are adorable.
The bird feeder I saw that seemed to work had one spring-loaded cylinder inside another. The holes on bother were lined up, but if anything as heavy as a squirrel tried it, the outside cylinder would pull down and the holes disappear.
Unfortunately I stopped having seed bird feeders because one of my cats will wait for them to come to the ground after the spilled seed and catch them there. I stick with hummingbirds now.
My folks neighbor had one of those. A squirrel figured out that if it took a fast run at the pole several times the sleeve would hit the feeder hard enough that it would spill a lot of seed on the ground. Exercise and then eat. The repetitive thumping on the feeder got tiresome.
Tower defense military system, oh it brings back great memories of my dad. When he came to live with me, he developed a love of birds. The squirrels drove him nuts; off to Lowes’ for fencing, extra strength car grease and special bird feed. A good memory
Anyone have suggestions for discouraging crows from washing in the bird bath whatever horrible garbage they’ve found to eat? If I don’t clean it out every day, it’s completely foul. I found a piece of ham in there the other day. The less gross birds won’t use it anymore.
I used to have a huge squirrel raider problem but was told to add cayenne pepper. It works! Mammals get a fiery mouth and stay away but birds don’t feel it. Good luck.
HA! I was six minutes behind you with the same suggestion! 😂
Yes! +2 Hot bird feed works.
Someone on our local Facebook page suggested mixing cayenne pepper into the bird seed…the birds don’t have the taste receptors for it but the squirrells do…and they don’t come back for more. Haven’t tried it myself but it seems like a great idea. Best of luck against the wee beasties!
They come and bury their monkey nuts in anyone’s plant pots on the balconies of my eight floor (nine storey in the US?) 1950’s block of 120 flats. I’m on the first floor (second I think in US) and regularly chat with a man on the eighth about how many we find when repotting. My record was changing the camellia (a big pot) and 23 monkey nuts. What amazes me is them going up to the eight floor. And the fact that for my first floor I’ve seen them using the staircase – which is enclosed!
I found two 12 inch raised beds last year and was excited to use them for flowers. The rabbits ate my plants so I wrapped chicken wire around the beds. They look tacky but the rabbits can’t reach the plants now. I only fill the bird feeder occasionally as the bigger birds chase the little ones away and I’ve been moving sod and hauling rock base for a pathway and didn’t want to deal with them flying around. I’m not a fan of birds up close and personal but the cats enjoy watching them. Happy to hear Gordon is doing well. I told a couple friends about the serial chapters, maybe some new fans!
I missed a few days, so I got to read through four chapters of Inheritance. This is sooooo good. It makes me happy. It has rained here for almost a solid week. I need happy. Thank you, thank you…so much!
Brilliant. I’ve seen many possible solutions to the squirrel and bird feeder problem – including the Rube Goldberg obstacle course set up by the same engineer who created the package sparkle trap – and this has simple superiority.
One of the better solutions is to grow plants that make seeds that birds like and just leave them up over the winter. Instead of all the seeds in one location making it easy to steal, you spread them out. Also, it’s way less work as a gardener.
Heh as I was reading, I thought, going to need to feed the bushy tailed rats separately. Cute photo! It’s what I do as well and it is quite effective.
So good to hear Gordon is recovering so well!
omg squirrel picnic table. That’s amazing.
Add cayenne pepper to the bird seed! Doesn’t affect birds but it does for squirrels. And I’m guessing deer?
Add cayenne pepper to the birdseed! Doesn’t bother birds but it does squirrels. And I’m guessing deer.
My cousin used fishing line strung between trees to hang his bird feeder. The feeders were also hung on lines from the cross line. No squirrels the afternoon I was visiting him.
Mark Rober on YouTube has a series of “bird feeder/squirrel proofing/obstacle course” videos. They are hysterical. He’s a former NASA engineer, and does amazing engineering projects. Highly recommend!