Pesky Squirrels

Alaska has numerous wildlife -some of it you hardly ever see, like bears, wolverines, coyotes, wolves, porcupines, fox, etc. Although you may see the evidence, the animals themselves are rather shy. Then, on the other hand, you have the not-so-shy kind of animals like magpies, jays and squirrels who insist on co-habitating with the humans. Even though they aren't wanted. We have a squirrel that has taken up residence in the rafters of our cabin. He/she (don't really know for sure) has chewed through the lids on two plastic 5-gallon buckets that we keep dogfood in, has chewed a corner off one of our wooden cabinets and has delighted in shredding the insulation that my sister Kris so painstakinly put up in the rafters. There are little balls of it everywhere! On this last trip to the cabin we found this! Our son made this birdhouse when he was in Junior High - it was a beautiful little birdhouse and hosted swallows for a few summers. Then it looks like the pesky squirrel got to it. He/she has enlarged the hole and piled so much stuff (probably insulation from my cabin) into it that the roof expanded right off the top. Needless to say, Tim goes on squirrel watch when we get to the cabin and the little buggers don't have long to live if he can get them in his sights.

(PS - I abhor that my husband shoots cute little furry squirrels and refuse to watch.....but, I'm secretly happy when he gets one!)