Category: squirrels

The Birthday that Just Keeps on Giving

A few days after my “big” birthday, I received a card from my local councilman. Since this had never happened before, I wondered why the recognition. Was it my blog? Was it the Doods? Was it because I’m a model citizen?

20160209_171423-1_resizedTHE DOODS We hate to burst her bubble but it was probably because she’s old or because he’s running for reelection.

Then a day later, I received another birthday surprise. The youngest daughter and the husband sent a gift box.

THE DOODS We all thought the gifts were hysterical. We hate to say it but sometimes we seem to have a more finely tuned sense of humor than Pack Leader.

First, following my up close and personal encounter feeding a squirrel out of my hand (for which you know I got a ton of static) was this t-shirt. Since the squirrel didn’t bite me and give me rabies, I think I may have earned the title.

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Squirrel Whisperer
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Elbee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ELBEE OMG I feel like one of those magazine comparisons of “who wore it best.” Is there any question with my fabulous hair and toned back?

The next gift was a water bottle that says, “KEEP CALM. HIKE ON.” Despite the fact that the daughters aren’t thrilled with some of my hiking adventures, I think this was a vote of confidence.

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ELBEE Again with the sunglasses? PL needs to get some professional help for her obsession with putting these on us all of the time, although I do like the bottle. 

After the bottle, I unwrapped a blogging organizer. They were referring to me as a real blogger. Awhile back, Nicole, the middle daughter, gave me a t-shirt that said, “World’s Greatest Blogger.” Hey that’s two out of three. The oldest still refuses to read my posts, but shares the photos so her friends can crack up at how much the Doods and I look alike.

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Charley and pushy Gus

THE DOODS Coincidentally, the almost 12 year old son of the blog non-reader said something amusing to PL recently. He told her that blogging was so last season (our words, not his) and that she should be vloging, like she knows what that is.

 

 

 

THE DOODS The last present is brilliant. Kudos to the youngest daughter. This is so awesome we forgive her for accusing us of peeing in the living room. As if!

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The Squirrel Debate Rages On

After putting up my last post, I was amazed to find out how many people have such strong opinions about squirrels. By the way, I am not the only one who feeds them from her hands. I’m not naming names.

IMG950987-1-1THE DOODS AND OUR BUDDY RILEYAs you know we all have very strong opinions about those little pests. They’re like Jeckyl and Hyde. As soon as they see us, the evil side comes out and they harass us to within an inch of our lives. We don’t need Pack Leader encouraging them.

I  have a couple of squirrel confessions that have been keeping me up at night. Not really but it sounded more dramatic. When I was a kid, I rescued a baby squirrel that fell out of a tree. As I recall, my mother wasn’t that thrilled when I brought it home and wanted to give it a bottle. She was even less thrilled when I brought home an injured woodchuck. I didn’t even know what it was. To be honest, I was such a nerdy kid they were like my friends. It was around the same time that I wanted a deodorized skunk as a pet.

THE DOODS OMG that is pathetic!

Here’s the really bad confession. When the daughters were little I would take them with me to a local park where I played tennis with a few friends. We were definitely not Wimbleton material. I’d put the daughters in a playpen right next to the court. Problem was they were under an oak tree so squirrels would run down the tree, jump into the playpen, grab food and run away.

In the spirit of confession, I have one more thing to get off my chest. The oldest daughter feels the same way about large birds that the Doods feel about squirrels. One time when she was a teenager, the two of us were at the beach. She dozed off and I was bored so I threw some breadcrumbs around her towel. Within minutes she woke up surrounded by squawking seagulls. I tried to pretend I was sleeping but I was laughing too hard.

ELBEE This is the same woman who thought she should be in the running for mother of the year? I wonder if it’s too late to call child protective services.