This writing thing is like any other patterned behavior, we do it because that’s what we do; it’s what I do. The morning has come and gone and I’m still in the first paragraph. When I measured cold water into the coffee maker everything was as it should be. Pouring my first cup of coffee I noticed on the patio, the door on my squirrel trap was closed with a mature, full grown squirrel inside, bent on finding a way out. The deal is this; if you (squirrel) eat the peanuts I put out for the woodpeckers, you win and I settle for a stalemate. I feed both the invited and the uninvited. But if you eat the peanuts I put in the box trap for you and you get caught then you suffer the consequence. I had to choose, keep to my morning routine and relocate the squirrel later or do squirrel business right away and play catch up all day.
It is after 1:00 p.m. and I am playing catch up. I carefully wrapped the trap in a quilted, mover’s blanket, put it in the back of my truck and drove the 12 miles to James A. Reed Wildlife Area near Lee’s Summit, MO. That is far enough (I am told) that a squirrel will not find its way home. This is the 9th tree rat I have expatriated this year. I don’t give them much credit, don’t attribute human properties (anthropomorphize) to the bushy tail rodents. I did consider the squirrel’s first truck ride, in a cage box trap, in the dark, how strange (unfamiliar) it must be. At the drop off spot my passenger stayed both still and quiet as I positioned the trap on a game trail, peeled the blanket away from the door so all it could see was its escape route. I raised open the door. After 20 seconds, no action and I bumped the cage. Squirrel came out of the chute like a thoroughbred racehorse. Without a look back, it disappeared in the brush and is by now (I would presume) exploring its new habitat and looking for food.
Shortly after I got home my son stopped by to check on a step stool I am making for his wife. We talked measurements, glue, C clamps and made some fresh saw dust. Hanging out with your kid is something you don’t take lightly, don’t rush. He stayed for nearly an hour. I had missed breakfast altogether so an early lunch was washed down with the morning’s coffee. Something wood workers will identify with, a 5 minute reset and then wait 3 hours for glue to dry. I did one of those but they always stretch into 20 minutes with impromptu house keeping chores and dust control. Sawdust will collect and bury you if you don’t stay ahead of it. I have improvised a crude dust collector from several long hoses and one large shop vac and it is better than nothing but yes, a 5 minute task can turn into a 20 minute sawdust adventure without warning.
I am back at my computer, mindful of an old but appropriate saying. I wish I knew who to give credit because it is such a clear eyed, simply stated truth. It goes; “The hurrier I go he behinder I get.” I volunteer with my church group that feeds the homeless and those who are food insecure. At 5:00 p.m. we (a bunch of us) will make up about 250 ham & cheese sandwiches and bag up meals for distribution at Washington Park, near Union Station in K.C., MO at 7:00. I have not been going to the distribution as plenty of help shows up at the park. That puts me home with enough time before dark to reload and position the squirrel trap.
Recently I have been releasing juvenile cardinals that have discovered the squirrel bait. When I see the door is down I look for the squirrel but all I get is a little red bird, just standing inside, praying for mercy (humor) as I don’t anthropomorphize, right! They are pint sized little things, cardinals for sure with top knots and color but much like 13 year-old humans. Their learning curve is really flat. I doubt they learn anything, only move on through that turbulent growth spurt and hope things get better. I release the birds but suffer them with a torrent of blasphemous scorn that would leave my mother speechless.
I don’t talk to the squirrels at all, maybe because I don’t ever want to see them again and that’s the difference. I want my cardinals to grow up and come back for the black oil sunflower seeds in the feeder atop of the pole. In winter they (males) perch in the top of the tallest tree and make that shrill, one note call that either ascends or descends for several seconds. It is so loud, so clear it is unmistakeable, even inside the house with windows closed and the TV on. It is not too soon to be marking territory and advertising availability for a prospective mate. That’s a good thing if you are a cardinal. Humans prefer small talk over a shared dinner, a glass of pinot noir, maybe playing footsie under the table.
It is after 1:00 p.m. and I am playing catch up. I carefully wrapped the trap in a quilted, mover’s blanket, put it in the back of my truck and drove the 12 miles to James A. Reed Wildlife Area near Lee’s Summit, MO. That is far enough (I am told) that a squirrel will not find its way home. This is the 9th tree rat I have expatriated this year. I don’t give them much credit, don’t attribute human properties (anthropomorphize) to the bushy tail rodents. I did consider the squirrel’s first truck ride, in a cage box trap, in the dark, how strange (unfamiliar) it must be. At the drop off spot my passenger stayed both still and quiet as I positioned the trap on a game trail, peeled the blanket away from the door so all it could see was its escape route. I raised open the door. After 20 seconds, no action and I bumped the cage. Squirrel came out of the chute like a thoroughbred racehorse. Without a look back, it disappeared in the brush and is by now (I would presume) exploring its new habitat and looking for food.
Shortly after I got home my son stopped by to check on a step stool I am making for his wife. We talked measurements, glue, C clamps and made some fresh saw dust. Hanging out with your kid is something you don’t take lightly, don’t rush. He stayed for nearly an hour. I had missed breakfast altogether so an early lunch was washed down with the morning’s coffee. Something wood workers will identify with, a 5 minute reset and then wait 3 hours for glue to dry. I did one of those but they always stretch into 20 minutes with impromptu house keeping chores and dust control. Sawdust will collect and bury you if you don’t stay ahead of it. I have improvised a crude dust collector from several long hoses and one large shop vac and it is better than nothing but yes, a 5 minute task can turn into a 20 minute sawdust adventure without warning.
I am back at my computer, mindful of an old but appropriate saying. I wish I knew who to give credit because it is such a clear eyed, simply stated truth. It goes; “The hurrier I go he behinder I get.” I volunteer with my church group that feeds the homeless and those who are food insecure. At 5:00 p.m. we (a bunch of us) will make up about 250 ham & cheese sandwiches and bag up meals for distribution at Washington Park, near Union Station in K.C., MO at 7:00. I have not been going to the distribution as plenty of help shows up at the park. That puts me home with enough time before dark to reload and position the squirrel trap.
Recently I have been releasing juvenile cardinals that have discovered the squirrel bait. When I see the door is down I look for the squirrel but all I get is a little red bird, just standing inside, praying for mercy (humor) as I don’t anthropomorphize, right! They are pint sized little things, cardinals for sure with top knots and color but much like 13 year-old humans. Their learning curve is really flat. I doubt they learn anything, only move on through that turbulent growth spurt and hope things get better. I release the birds but suffer them with a torrent of blasphemous scorn that would leave my mother speechless.
I don’t talk to the squirrels at all, maybe because I don’t ever want to see them again and that’s the difference. I want my cardinals to grow up and come back for the black oil sunflower seeds in the feeder atop of the pole. In winter they (males) perch in the top of the tallest tree and make that shrill, one note call that either ascends or descends for several seconds. It is so loud, so clear it is unmistakeable, even inside the house with windows closed and the TV on. It is not too soon to be marking territory and advertising availability for a prospective mate. That’s a good thing if you are a cardinal. Humans prefer small talk over a shared dinner, a glass of pinot noir, maybe playing footsie under the table.
No comments:
Post a Comment