One day, as I was at the sink, I noticed something moving outside the window. As I looked closer, I saw a squirrel digging at the top tarp. (I have to peer through the bare dogwood tree limbs.) She scratched on it until she had a huge fluff the size of a basketball of shredded tarp. There is no way to stop these squirrels when they start on a project of deconstructing what we humans want intact.
My neighbor had a nice, new hammock with the attached pillow. Squirrels ripped up the pillow. She said every day she looked, more was ripped open and the pillow was being gutted. She was furious and finally took down the hammock. I had sweet potatoes on a table in the back yard. A squirrel carried one 20 feet up a tree and left it in a crotch. Squirrels dig up anything planted in a pot, so my life is rough when it comes to anything potted growing. Okay, maybe those are chipmunks digging in pots.
Several days, I have noticed the squirrel at work or noticed that more of the good tarp has been ripped up. Before I get new chicks to put out there, I was going to have another tarp put over the pen. It won't last now that the squirrels have found a ready source of bedding for the babies probably due soon.
When a tarp is ripped up, the tarp shreds into little blue plastic strands, sort of like spaghetti. These strands will now be all over the yard and in trees.
Even if I could rid my yard of squirrels, there are so many that the other squirrels in the neighborhood would just move over here.
This morning, I awoke about 4 am. I was too warm, so I threw off the sheet and fuzzy blanket. Then, I was chilly, so I pulled the sheet over me. I was too warm, so I pulled it away from my neck and stuck my hands out. sigh Finally, I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed the heater was on. It was not just barely on! It was on too high. So, I turned it almost off. The room finally was cooler. The cooler I got, the sleepier I got. So, I turned over to go to sleep with only the sheet over me. Then, my cold feet roused me even as I tried to just ignore my feet. I took the blanket in a heap and threw it at my feet. Ahhh, better. Then, my feet were too hot. I lay still and tried to sleep, anyway. That did not work. Finally, I just turned on the light and got the laptop out and waited for the alarm to go off at 8 am.
It is 11:15 am, and I am exhausted. I am too tired to put on a nightgown, but I don't want to sleep in my clothes. UGH! Three hours sleep does not work for me!
I called a friend and we are going to meet and she just said, "When I get through here." Well, about 11:30, I went to sleep in my clothing. I had a nice nap until about 4 pm. I called and she had forgotten another place she was going, so, that's that. It's okay. Plus, the conference was late ending.
If I had not had the heat on too high, if I had turned it down sooner, if I had not had so much cover on me, if I had taken a melatonin, if, if, if, that is how some nights go.
Do you have an abundance of squirrels? Eating things you don't want them to eat? I know there must me somebody who has as much trouble going to sleep some nights as I do. Raise your hand.
