Its Fall and We Caught a Squirrel

I hate to say it but I think fall is officially upon us. Though it was 80 degrees on Monday, its been lingering around the 60 degree mark for days now, and approaching the freezing point at nights. Its not that I dislike fall--it is a nice season, with good colors and mostly pleasant weather, not to mention my birthday--its just that it leads to winter and seems so very short in comparison to the winter. I'm sure its just perspective. Winter seems long because its cold and snowy and summer seems short because we take it for granted. Either way, I have mixed feelings about the fall.

So, its been a fast summer. We did enjoy many outings, when we could. Lizzie took the kids to the zoo more than once, and we went to the Ames pool a few times, though we should have utilized our membership a bit more than we did. We also had many park outings, and trips the ice cream shop. BellaRose has become fond of these outings and she knows if we are driving the car past 8:00 pm its a fair bet she's gonna score some ice cream. She is a Davis, after all, and we are fond of our ice cream.

Jude has grown like crazy! At his 6 mos. check-up he was 21 lbs. BellaRose weighed the same at 1 year. He's in the 95% for weight and 70% for height. He has already started to get a taste for table food, which is partially to be blamed for his above average weight. We try not to give him too much, especially things he shouldn't have, but sometimes he's too convincing with his cute "please, daddy" eyes. He too is a fan of ice cream.

I bet you're all wondering about the title of this post. Yes, as the second part reads, we DID catch a squirrel. In our house. Not a tree dwelling brown squirrel, but a striped ground squirrel, a.k.a "chipmunk" or "squinny". Lizzie discovered him one day when he decided to come check out place out while she was in the living room. I never saw him for weeks but Lizzie would have occasional sightings, usually when it was quiet, during the afternoon. He'd check the place out, and be scared off when he'd spy a living, breathing human. What did he think he'd find?

At first I was certain Lizzie had schizophrenia and was imaging the dread squirrel that plagued her life. I've never known a women so deathly afraid of rodents. During the Mouse Wars of 2010, she was on edge and thought she heard mice scurrying everywhere. Same for the chipmunk, whom she was certain had made a burrow underneath our bed and plotted her demise nightly. I vehemently explained that he stood no chance of defeating her in a duel and unlike mice, was not here for food, but rather a place to store his nuts for the winter. Chipmunks, as it seems, are not nocturnal and come out only during the day, when the master of the house--the only one NOT afraid of him--was at work. To be fair, BellaRose was pretty curious about the chipmunk and talked at great length about her adventures with the beast. She became a good sidekick when I took measures of my own to catch this possibly imaginary rodent.

After plugging up some entry points underneath the house, as well as inside, I had hoped to assuage some feelings and be rid of the pest. However, a few days ago, he was spotted again. We had set a live trap out, in the furnace room (a likely entry point) and placed some crackers with peanut butter in it. Being a swift and light creature by nature, the chipmunk snagged a cracker without being caught and ate it in front of Elizabeth, taunting her as if knowing about her phobia and plans for his removal. Then, a day or two later, I spotted him, when I came into the kitchen after changing Jude in the back room. He scurried underneath the cabinets and escaped. He is lucky I was holding Jude, for he had loose footing on the laminate floor and I could have stopped him, having no fear of him (I think he sensed it). I could tell that he was getting braver as well, coming out during the day when the master hunter was at home, and in the kitchen while BellaRose at breakfast. He must have heard the humans but was gaining confidence quickly. He also had a penchant for Disney songs.

Then, today, when I was again plotting my next move during naps, a "clank" was heard from the furnace room then a series of furious but futile scratchings. The beast had been caught...in a live trap that had no bait (he ate the other bait, continually teasing Lizzie). What luck! Likely just being overly curious and cocky, he entered the trap clumsily and set it off. Either way, he is now my captive. Not sure yet what techniques I will deploy to interrogate him. I must know how he entered, where his cache of nuts are and if he told any of his fellow rodents...especially mice...about or home. We will then take him to an undisclosed locale and release him so that he may spread the word. We spared him today, but others may not be so lucky. Just ask the few that made it out of Mice Wars 2010.