Those damn squirrels

When I first bought my house a quarter century ago, I decorated for Christmas like crazy. I put a ton of lights on one of the cedar trees. During the winter the squirrels at through the wires and left a thousand pieces of outdoor lighting wire that I still find occasionally even now.

Since then I have been careful and reluctant to do outdoor lights. I have often hung the lights in my porch so they can be seen but not eaten.

Late last fall I decided to move my solar outdoor light string from around the lamp post to around the boulevard tree. Since these are solar lights it was a great opportunity to light the tree without having to run anything from the house.

Everything seemed fine until the weather warmed up and the squirrels started to get active. A few weeks ago I noticed that the lights were not coming on. I thought the solar cell had gotten turned around again which had happened a while ago.

Instead I found the solar cell on the ground. First I thought it was vandals. Upon closer inspection I discovered the wires had been severed in a few places. This lead me to believe the squirrels had been at it again!

Well, over the last couple of nights I reattached the wires using hot glue and electrical tape. Now to figure out where to put the lights that will keep them from gnawing squirrels!

(Bent) Oak Tree

I was originally just going to post the following picture of a squirrel on the oak tree with a caption that I get what I deserve for planting an acorn-producing tree in my backyard.

But he following day it was apparent that something had happened to the oak tree -- it was bent over rather dramatically. The pictures don't really show the full extent so I've drawn a red line to show the curve.

straight

bent

bent

And the mystery of what bent the tree continues as the twine that was being used to support the tree against the predominately west wind has disappeared.

UPDATE - Tuesday evening:  When I came home this afternoon, the oak tree was swaying wildly...AND I KNOW WHY!?  A squirrel was pulling on the twine support!! The squirrel was gathering up the twine and had a huge mouthful.  So I think it was a squirrel pulling on the twine support that caused the bend in the tree!

Update on squirrel activity

The squirrels managed to pull the rest of the paper from the recycle bag.  They got it out from under the compostable pile and dragged it into the garden.  They are now chewing it into smaller pieces and carrying off.

This is kind of blurry because I've enlarged it alot.  The guy has a mouthful of paper and is carrying it somewhere.

I didn't see where he went but it better not be in my attic...I think they are living in the top of the giant house next door.

What the...?

You can buy these very tall paper bags to put your yard and garden compostables in.  I had gotten several for the fall clean up and there was this one left that wasn't quite full and the city doesn't take these during the winter.

Yesterday I noticed that the squirrels have taken ALL the paper parts and left the inside which is mostly day lilly leaves in place! 

You would think the day lilly leaves would make better nesting material than the paper.  May be they wanted the paper to write nasty notes or wall paper their living rooms!

Then this morning I step out the back porch and there is this big pile of pigeon feathers. Kind of hard to tell in this picture but the white stuff is feathers.  Covers about a 3'x3' area.

I am assuming the neighborhood falcon was out for breakfast.

As if to say "We cannot be defeated!"

Walked out to the backyard this morning to find the umbrella tie lying on the patio table.  The squirrels had eaten the shoestring with the mothball sock that I've used all summer to keep the umbrella closed tight.

Also, an apple had been picked from the tree and half eaten.  I am hoping that just the potency of the mothballs has decreased so I'm adding more mothballs to the socks.

So far the mothballs are working

At the risk of jinxing it, so far the apples are doing fantastic this year with the mothball sock sacks keeping the squirrels away.

Some of the apples have little nibbles which I think are from the birds.  Roxi feeds the sparrows and there are probably a flock of hundred..no kidding..that hang around and sometimes land in the apple tree.

These in the pictures are nearly the size of my fist now and there are probably about two dozen all together.

Keep your fingers crossed and hope the squirrels stay away.