Showing posts with label Squirrels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Squirrels. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Rattling and scurrying
There is a squirrel directly outside my window that is building a nest, I presume, as she or he is pulling small branches off the tree and taking it up into it.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
I got up very early for a Saturday
But then I was in bed by about 9 pm and asleep by 10:30 last night. I have to take a couple of people to an appointment in a couple of hours, and so I wanted to get up early, get washed up and dressed, and clean out the car. Not that there was much in the way of trash (a couple of soda bottles to recycle), but I still had a small cherry table in the backseat and my TV and DVD player in the trunk, and they've been there since before I got sick. I set it all up, it works (now that I have WiFi, I can not only get the basic channels with a digital antenna, I can get streaming services since it's a (small) Smart TV). I can also watch my DVDs now without hooking up the old DVD-ROM to my laptop (I don't have one built into the computer as it's smaller and they saved space).
YKWIA just came in and saw the TV set up. I'm not sure he was happy, but he said it was okay. I did set it all up while he was asleep in the hopes that he'd be less likely to say no, I have to admit, which I did freely to him. But it's out of the way of his treadmill (though next to it) and away from the books, so I think it'll be okay.
So far this morning I've also taken my meds (including the antibiotic), eaten some raisin bran with a banana, and now I'm in my room while he's watching 'Will & Grace', with the cat perched on my bed. It's raining outside, so the dogs weren't particularly happy, and they were just let in and are gated in the kitchen.
I like the new room. I have a door I can shut so I have more privacy, so my music doesn't disturb him (or the TV for that matter). I can hear him on the computer when he's watching stuff because he plays it loudly (his hearing isn't what it used to be, but then neither is mine, I just can listen to things more softly), but I can take it down a notch or two by closing the door. I'm surrounded by books on three sides of the room, and I have taken over some of the built-in shelves, so I have more storage as far as the bed go. The water for my CPAP, for example, is in the footboard instead of next to the bed. I have the two nightstands, with two drawers each, the bookcase on the headboard, plus the top of that, the footboard with two sliding-door cabinets and two long drawers for underwear, socks, and nightclothes. He's let me use his cedar chest for pants and T-shirts. My normals blouses and sweaters, along with my laundry basket, lunch bags, a few random bags, and my robe are in the entryway closet. I also keep my two microfleece blankets there in the daytime. In the hall closet are my linens and two bags of purses. Also in the bedroom, in addition to the TV/DVD/cherry table, are two small trash cans and a Bluetooth speaker tower. My headboard has a small CD player/boom box, so I have all the music set up and now the video. He brought a stool in while I was sick to put my food on, and I've kept it, so I have the laptop on it right now and my chair from the kitchen. But those travel around, of course. So it's a nice, comfy environment, and I'm doing so much better in terms of anxiety and psychological peace since downsizing. Now granted, I am having to pay for storage, and most of that is the books that I didn't get rid of. But it's still much better than when I was in the apartment. We're doing pretty well in terms of getting along and giving each other space, although I'm a bit too chatty for him before his coffee, except that's usually just Saturdays and Sundays, and I can take a hint. I think having me home (especially after I ventured out of the bed after three days) was starting to get to him, having a little too much time with me). But otherwise, we're doing fine. I have certain chores and he does as well; we share a lot of the upkeep.
I have two windows in my room, good-sized, but separate as opposed to the two in the living room, which are together. There are two maple trees and a redbud outside in the front yard, and there is a squirrel who has been hopping between one and the roof above. The cat is having his Zen time on my bed, or I'm sure he'd be enjoying the view. We get lots of squirrels. Our neighbour has been putting out corn for them, and they nest in the maples. It's nice living in a house. It's got a little over 1200 square feet, has the large bedroom, which I gather was two rooms at one point, you can tell on the hardwood floor, the library, which was a study and a den at one point until they remodeled, the living room, a kitchen with utility room, and a bath. I do wish they'd kept the bath as one main one with the half bath off the master bedroom, but instead they knocked down a wall and made it a large bathroom with tub, a shower glassed in on three sides, a window, two sinks (that is nice) with a large mirror and three cabinets behind it, and a door going to the bedroom and to the hall. But sometimes we trip over each other trying to use it. Still, it's nice, and there's ceramic tile in the kitchen and bath, and hardwood throughout the rest of the house, the former having been part of their remodelling a few years ago. There's a nice-sized shed for storage and a privacy fence for the dogs, although one likes to jump up and peek over it, and can. She could technically clear it, I think, she just doesn't realise it. Still, I suspect she scares the neighbours when she does that, as she is a Labrador-pit bull mix with amazing jumping power. The other little dog is a border collie-terrier mix. The cat is black and slinky. They are all incredibly loving and good-natured. The older dog has mellowed over the years; she used to be much more anxious and weird. We found that a Thundershirt helped when she was outside, but the other dog was offended by it and would drag her around the yard by it until she tore it to pieces. She used to have to be sedated around the Fourth of July, but now she's a little deafer and it doesn't bother her. I love all the animals dearly, but I'm a little partial to the little dog, who sleeps in my room most nights.
There was just a mourning dove out on the tree a minute ago, spooked by a squirrel. But she walked along the branch with that funny gait and head bobbling thing they do. I think they are my favourite bird, not particularly showy, but I love them. They're usually on the ground in pairs when I see them. I love their call, as well, so eerie.
Okay, I guess I should go get hydrated and ready for the outing. I hope things are going pretty well for you all. Stay well (I had mild flu, really, but it still was bad enough). Have a great day.
YKWIA just came in and saw the TV set up. I'm not sure he was happy, but he said it was okay. I did set it all up while he was asleep in the hopes that he'd be less likely to say no, I have to admit, which I did freely to him. But it's out of the way of his treadmill (though next to it) and away from the books, so I think it'll be okay.
So far this morning I've also taken my meds (including the antibiotic), eaten some raisin bran with a banana, and now I'm in my room while he's watching 'Will & Grace', with the cat perched on my bed. It's raining outside, so the dogs weren't particularly happy, and they were just let in and are gated in the kitchen.
I like the new room. I have a door I can shut so I have more privacy, so my music doesn't disturb him (or the TV for that matter). I can hear him on the computer when he's watching stuff because he plays it loudly (his hearing isn't what it used to be, but then neither is mine, I just can listen to things more softly), but I can take it down a notch or two by closing the door. I'm surrounded by books on three sides of the room, and I have taken over some of the built-in shelves, so I have more storage as far as the bed go. The water for my CPAP, for example, is in the footboard instead of next to the bed. I have the two nightstands, with two drawers each, the bookcase on the headboard, plus the top of that, the footboard with two sliding-door cabinets and two long drawers for underwear, socks, and nightclothes. He's let me use his cedar chest for pants and T-shirts. My normals blouses and sweaters, along with my laundry basket, lunch bags, a few random bags, and my robe are in the entryway closet. I also keep my two microfleece blankets there in the daytime. In the hall closet are my linens and two bags of purses. Also in the bedroom, in addition to the TV/DVD/cherry table, are two small trash cans and a Bluetooth speaker tower. My headboard has a small CD player/boom box, so I have all the music set up and now the video. He brought a stool in while I was sick to put my food on, and I've kept it, so I have the laptop on it right now and my chair from the kitchen. But those travel around, of course. So it's a nice, comfy environment, and I'm doing so much better in terms of anxiety and psychological peace since downsizing. Now granted, I am having to pay for storage, and most of that is the books that I didn't get rid of. But it's still much better than when I was in the apartment. We're doing pretty well in terms of getting along and giving each other space, although I'm a bit too chatty for him before his coffee, except that's usually just Saturdays and Sundays, and I can take a hint. I think having me home (especially after I ventured out of the bed after three days) was starting to get to him, having a little too much time with me). But otherwise, we're doing fine. I have certain chores and he does as well; we share a lot of the upkeep.
I have two windows in my room, good-sized, but separate as opposed to the two in the living room, which are together. There are two maple trees and a redbud outside in the front yard, and there is a squirrel who has been hopping between one and the roof above. The cat is having his Zen time on my bed, or I'm sure he'd be enjoying the view. We get lots of squirrels. Our neighbour has been putting out corn for them, and they nest in the maples. It's nice living in a house. It's got a little over 1200 square feet, has the large bedroom, which I gather was two rooms at one point, you can tell on the hardwood floor, the library, which was a study and a den at one point until they remodeled, the living room, a kitchen with utility room, and a bath. I do wish they'd kept the bath as one main one with the half bath off the master bedroom, but instead they knocked down a wall and made it a large bathroom with tub, a shower glassed in on three sides, a window, two sinks (that is nice) with a large mirror and three cabinets behind it, and a door going to the bedroom and to the hall. But sometimes we trip over each other trying to use it. Still, it's nice, and there's ceramic tile in the kitchen and bath, and hardwood throughout the rest of the house, the former having been part of their remodelling a few years ago. There's a nice-sized shed for storage and a privacy fence for the dogs, although one likes to jump up and peek over it, and can. She could technically clear it, I think, she just doesn't realise it. Still, I suspect she scares the neighbours when she does that, as she is a Labrador-pit bull mix with amazing jumping power. The other little dog is a border collie-terrier mix. The cat is black and slinky. They are all incredibly loving and good-natured. The older dog has mellowed over the years; she used to be much more anxious and weird. We found that a Thundershirt helped when she was outside, but the other dog was offended by it and would drag her around the yard by it until she tore it to pieces. She used to have to be sedated around the Fourth of July, but now she's a little deafer and it doesn't bother her. I love all the animals dearly, but I'm a little partial to the little dog, who sleeps in my room most nights.
There was just a mourning dove out on the tree a minute ago, spooked by a squirrel. But she walked along the branch with that funny gait and head bobbling thing they do. I think they are my favourite bird, not particularly showy, but I love them. They're usually on the ground in pairs when I see them. I love their call, as well, so eerie.
Okay, I guess I should go get hydrated and ready for the outing. I hope things are going pretty well for you all. Stay well (I had mild flu, really, but it still was bad enough). Have a great day.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
We've talked a lot about squirrels on the list for medical librarians of late :)
A terrifying and hilarious map of squirrel attacks on the U.S. power grid
The phenomenon of squirrel attacks is a great illustration of how our perception of risk tends to be skewed away from mundane frequent things toward big, scary improbable things. Plenty of ink gets spilled on the alleged vulnerability of our power grid to cyber attacks. But as none other then the Brookings Institution has noted, "squirrels have taken down the power grid more times than the zero times that hackers have." You could say the same about Hannah Montana balloons, for that matter.Thank you, Brian L. Baker for sharing this. :)
Thursday, September 18, 2014
A much better day today
Yesterday was somewhat stressful, as I was trying to get two friends home and then me home while running the car with my gas light on the whole time. I also hit a squirrel on Ashland Avenue while going to pick up A, and it was terrible, but I had no time to brake (and had someone right behind me, so I couldn't) or swerve, and the only blessing is it was a very quick death. And I didn't cry. I once hit a cat (a black one, at midnight on Friday the 13th, after a couple of idiots in our group were playing with a Ouija board, if you believe it). Thinking it was a friend's, I stopped and took it to their house. It died in my arms on the way. I then proceeded to cry hysterically for about 45 minutes. I am very much an animal lover, as you know if you read this blog, and it was the first animal I'd ever killed. Since then there was the robin who tried to land in front of my car on US 27 as I was going 60 mph, and I think there was probably another squirrel at some point. That's four in nearly 30 years of driving--I guess that's not bad. But each one made me sad.
Today was better. For one, it was payday, so the first thing I did was go get a half of a tank of gas and some money for the cafeteria at work. Later, I ran by Kroger and got a few things, as things were kind of tight the last few days. Then YKWIA and I watched an episode of 'Haven'. He's watched each of the first four seasons. The fifth is on SyFy right now, but he won't watch it because the way they spell the channel name. So it'll probably be awhile before the fifth season is on Netflix. I'm on season three, almost halfway, I think. I love the show. I'm just concerned he's going to take some of the stuff from it and put it into our Call of Cthulhu game.
I'm home now, listening to music through a bluetooth speaker tower that's paired to my phone, namely Loreena McKennitt. I find her very relaxing to listen to in the evening. It's not quite the same as my old dock and boom box setup, but it works well. The tower can also plug into the phone and charge it, or play the FM radio, or play music from a USB drive or SD card. Not too bad. It's got a nice sound. Right now I've got it in the bedroom, but I'm thinking of putting it in the living room. I wish I could play the TV sound through it.
Okay, sleep is the next thing on my agenda. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some work done on the house, which is getting unbearable, and I'm not a neat freak by any means. Saturday I know we have to go to the pharmacy and grocery. Sunday should be the game. But for now, I'm just glad tomorrow is Friday. :)
Today was better. For one, it was payday, so the first thing I did was go get a half of a tank of gas and some money for the cafeteria at work. Later, I ran by Kroger and got a few things, as things were kind of tight the last few days. Then YKWIA and I watched an episode of 'Haven'. He's watched each of the first four seasons. The fifth is on SyFy right now, but he won't watch it because the way they spell the channel name. So it'll probably be awhile before the fifth season is on Netflix. I'm on season three, almost halfway, I think. I love the show. I'm just concerned he's going to take some of the stuff from it and put it into our Call of Cthulhu game.
I'm home now, listening to music through a bluetooth speaker tower that's paired to my phone, namely Loreena McKennitt. I find her very relaxing to listen to in the evening. It's not quite the same as my old dock and boom box setup, but it works well. The tower can also plug into the phone and charge it, or play the FM radio, or play music from a USB drive or SD card. Not too bad. It's got a nice sound. Right now I've got it in the bedroom, but I'm thinking of putting it in the living room. I wish I could play the TV sound through it.
Okay, sleep is the next thing on my agenda. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some work done on the house, which is getting unbearable, and I'm not a neat freak by any means. Saturday I know we have to go to the pharmacy and grocery. Sunday should be the game. But for now, I'm just glad tomorrow is Friday. :)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
I have a thing for squirrels
Ever since I was bitten by one a few years ago (long story, let's say I was having a Disney moment that didn't work out so well).
But thank goodness I've never had this happen:
'As soon as I saw the squirrel, I knew I needed backup': Police respond after Okla. woman calls 911 to report rodent in her toilet
I'm not sure I would have called 911. I'd probably try to take care of it myself and get bitten again. :) But fortunately everyone (including the squirrel) got through things without problems.
Imagine if she'd just sat down without looking.
But thank goodness I've never had this happen:
'As soon as I saw the squirrel, I knew I needed backup': Police respond after Okla. woman calls 911 to report rodent in her toilet
I'm not sure I would have called 911. I'd probably try to take care of it myself and get bitten again. :) But fortunately everyone (including the squirrel) got through things without problems.
Imagine if she'd just sat down without looking.
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