Minor and Major Frustrations

Sipping our morning coffee and still talking, my friend and I watched the dawn. Both of us saw something on the deck in the early light. It was climbing near the closed umbrella.

We have a large umbrella on a rolling plant stand. We use it when we are grilling in the rain. Otherwise, it stands idly in the corner. I grabbed the camera hoping to capture the small critter. Yep! It was another flying squirrel. Dang those little rascals. We are doing everything we properly can to discourage them, but we do live in the woods you know.

The squirrel had plans to climb inside the umbrella, perhaps to rest for the day.






He began to crawl inside, totally unaware of my presence.

He saw me and began to climb the outside of the umbrella.

He couldn't quite make it, and I photographed him in the act of falling down.

He landed on a footstool and scampered away before I could re-focus for a clear shot.

He quickly climbed to the deck railing and soared gracefully to a tree. Drat those things! They are really frustrating.

So, you might ask, what is the major frustration? It's the senseless and disastrous oil spill from the offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While I am pleased that the incident is being widely reported, my blood boils every time I see or hear any details about the spill and the havoc it is creating for the environment and for the economy. (You don't think for a moment the oil company is going to absorb the financial loss, do you?) And what about the destruction of the marine life? And the people whose very livelihoods depend on the marine life? And the birds who will be stuck in the sticky goo? And the people along the Gulf coast whose beaches will be covered? And the air pollution from the planned burn? I could go on and on.

Photograph from the Associated Press

Hey! Congress and President Obama...could you possibly re-think the expansion of offshore drilling? Oh, and you had better re-define the phrase "fail safe." Especially as used in the fail-safe robotic method of immediately capping these oil rigs at the source.

No, You Cannot Live Here

This is a photograph of a Southern Flying Squirrel in his natural habitat. He lives in the cavities of old trees and in prefers conifer woods. The Southern Flying Squirrel is commonly found throughout the entire state of North Carolina. He belongs outside.

The western mountains are also home to the Northern Flying Squirrel, a bit larger than the Southern Flying Squirrel and not found in North Carolina outside the mountains. He also belongs outside.

(Photograph from enature.com)

The flying squirrel does not actually fly. He has skin folds between his front and hind legs that enable him to soar in a parachute-like motion. The squirrel climbs to a high tree and then glides to another tree.

(Photograph from itsnature.org)

We bring in our birdfeeders at night, but we have seen flying squirrels on occasion very early in the morning when we put them back on the deck. http://ncmountainwoman.blogspot.com/2008/09/one-mystery-solved.html
http://ncmountainwoman.blogspot.com/2009/02/caught-him-in-act.html



This summer we have had problems with our standard hummingbird feeders so we have brought them inside as well. Those pesky flying squirrels!

Flying squirrels can enter houses in very tiny areas (as small as 1 inch square!) and once inside they can do massive amounts of damage. While we had no indication they were inside, we hired an exterminator to regularly check our attic spaces. There has been no evidence the squirrels have attempted to come inside.

Very early the other morning, I heard a thump and saw a flying squirrel on the bedroom screen. I stepped out on the deck with the camera to see if I could capture him. Well, I did find him all right. He was hanging half in and half out of a vent under the eaves! He does not belong there.

The little rascal has chewed through the grate and built himself a cozy little nest right there in the vent box. I repeat, he does not belong there. Fortunately, the vent box has a small fan inside and would discourage any animal from moving further than the box itself. (We hope!)

(Photograph from my house!!!)

Now, we will have to find someone who will live-trap the pests and transport them away from here. Then we'll have to spend a small fortune to replace the vent box (which, of course, is very high from the ground and requires special ladders and nerves of steel). In addition, it appears that flying squirrels mark with a very strong scent (at least to other squirrels), so we will have to have the area sprayed to deter others from moving in. I read that one can install strobe lights and that will disturb the squirrels enough to make them move, but somehow strobe lights outside my bedroom window doesn't seem like a good idea. Whatever action we take, we must prevent these rascals from getting into the attic when the vent box feels too chilly this winter.

AND NO! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, THEY ARE NOT CUTE!!!

Caught Him in the Act

My husband is a very early riser. During the winter, he is up well before sunrise. He hangs the bird feeders and then fills the bird bath with fresh water first thing every morning.

Yesterday morning he hung the feeders as usual. When he was coming back to the deck with the water, he was surprised to see something already at the suet. Being the blogger husband that he is, he put down the water and grabbed the camera. He snapped a few pictures of the flying squirrel who had decided to have breakfast (or perhaps dinner) early. These were truly shots in the dark.

So, why didn't our wonderful "squirrel baffle" keep the flying squirrel away? Simple explanation for that. This squirrel doesn't need to climb up the pole. He easily glides there from a nearby tree. The squirrel was startled at first, but managed to get a few bites of suet before gliding away into the woods. We think this is a Southern flying squirrel because of his smaller size and gray coloring.

Thanks honey, for being so quick with the camera.

The flying squirrel is the only nocturnal tree squirrel in the United States. They often seek shelter in attics where they can cause a lot of damage. We have checked the house carefully to make certain they have no place to enter. We aren't certain where this squirrel lives, but we do see him more often than we would like. Flying squirrels have been known to raid bird nesting boxes and grab the eggs. And you know how we feel about our nesting birds.

One Mystery Solved

Regular readers may recall a post I did about my favorite hanging basket that has three hummingbird feeders attached. It is quite attractive and the hummingbirds love it. We hang it over the deck.



A red glass flower rests in each hummingbird feeder. One morning we went out on the deck to find all three glass tops missing from the feeders. We found them lying on the ground far below. Each of the feeders had been drained of nectar. What a mystery. A gray squirrel has been know to hop on the basket to climb from the deck railing to the tree and might occasionally knock one of the flowers off. But all three? And emptying the feeders as well? And at night? Not likely.

This happened for three consecutive mornings. Meanwhile, we also noticed a hole in the screen on one of our bedroom windows. Could this be at all related to the vandalism?

The moon was full at the time and shines directly into our bedroom. That night my husband awakened to see a huge rodent on the floor next to the bed! Then he realized it was a shadow on the floor and not something inside the house. He looked at the screen just in time to see a flying squirrel launch from the screen and glide in the direction of the hanging basket. Mystery solved. The flying squirrel had glided from a nearby tree to the screen. From the screen he glided to the basket, removing the glass tops and sipping all the nectar.

Photo from wonderclub.com

I removed the hummingbird feeders from the planter. We have other feeders for the hummingbirds. As we looked around the house, we found another screen that was damaged by the flying squirrel. I have no idea why he can't use the shingles for a launching pad. We haven't heard the squirrel on the house since we took down the feeders in the plant. Perhaps he decided to search for himself since our diner was closed. I certainly hope so.

Now, if I could just solve the financial market mystery...