: Squirrels. Grrrrr. . .
Those of you who are keeping track may recall my ongoing battles with the squirrel population in our neighborhood. They leave mounds of half eaten nuts scattered throughout the backyard and crap all over our deck. Well, these nefarious, sneaky rodent like rodents have struck again.
Maybe a year ago we innocently put up a bird feeder in our back yard. In those immortal words, it seemed like a good idea at the time. . . .
Anyway, the local bird population figured out what was going on, but so did those beady eyed midget furry devils. Apparently, squirrels like bird feed. This posed a problem, since we don’t like to keep the bird feed lying around inside the house – it attracts indoor rodents. So we bought a nice environmentally correct, recyclable outdoor container to hold the bird seed. Well. Last week I noticed that our nice environmentally correct, recyclable outdoor container had what appeared to be some bite marks on it. Hah – it must be the squirrels. But there’s no way they could chew all the way through it, right?
Wrong!
Saturday morning I looked outside and – to my shock & horror – one of those evil little creatures had chewed all the way through our nice environmentally correct, recyclable outdoor container and was munching away at the bird feed. In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, “This means war”. After spending a hour or so researching on the internet, I came up with a hi-tech solution – a (drum roll) Behrens™ High Grade Steel 6106 6 Gallon Silver Galvanized Steel Storage Can with Locking Lid. I’ve attached a side by side photo. As you can see, the green container – that’s our ex nice environmentally correct, recyclable outdoor container – has been chewed up.
Take that you squirrels – go try chewing on a Behrens™ High Grade Steel 6106 6 Gallon Silver Galvanized Steel Storage Can with Locking Lid
If this doesn’t work, the old Tom Lehrer song “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” comes to mind – especially the line “And maybe we’ll do in a squirrel or two. . . .” Nah, I won’t go that far. !
I can report that we have, in fact, recycled our old etc, etc, recyclable outdoor container.
Fun fact – an estimated 250,000 people in America suffer from Sciurophobia – fear of squirrels. As far as I can tell, there is no single word for hatred of squirrels in your back yard.
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I should report that not everyone has squirrel antipathy. Years ago – way back in the early 1990s – some in-laws from Australia visited us. They were entranced by the squirrels – thought they were the cutest things – they took pictures & movies to bring back with them. They couldn’t understand my antipathy. Then, in 2006 we visited said in-laws in Australia. I got up early one morning, went for a walk and was thrilled to see some actual live kangaroos hopping around. I excitedly went back to the house to tell everyone. My in-laws reaction? “Oh those *&^&%$ pests!”
So I guess – and putting in a shameless plug for my sister Deborah Holland – It’s All Relative
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January 14th, Tuesday, 8:00PM-12:00 – The Tuesday Night Blues Jam at SuzyQue’s, 34 S. Valley Road, West Orange NJ
I’m taking advantage of a break in my schedule and going to a few local blues jams. For those of you who are not familiar with the scene, at a blues jam different musicians get on & off during the course of the evening. I will play the first set @ 8:00, but after that there will likely be other keyboard players, so if you show up and you don’t see me on stage, it’s likely that I’m taking turns with the other keyboard players. Suzy Ques has a nice assortment of beer and excellent BBQ.
http://www.suzyques.com
https://www.facebook.com/andylackow/posts/1016269100
https://www.facebook.com/SuzyQuesBBQ/?eid=ARAPNm1g1C921miqzKZ6jojzXNIwryHsWDzh0bk_jDqz30udaBQiq5Ea0MNohOZJFpmYT5YNkDHuGffj
January 15th, Wednesday, 8:30PMish-11:00ish – The Wednesday Night Blues Jam at The Franklin Tavern, 97-99 Franklin Ave, West Orange, New Jersey 07052
The Wednesday Night jam at The Franklin Tavern is where I first started getting back into playing live – this is back in 2005. I’m looking forward to meeting and catching up with old friends. Free peanuts & pizza!
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=franklin%20tavern%20west%20orange&epa=SEARCH_BOX
January 18th, Saturday, 8:30PM-11:30ish – Shuffle Jump & Moan at Hat City, 459 Valley Street, City of Orange, NJ 07050 (862) 252-9147
SJ&M’s first gig of the new decade at a re-vitalized Hat City. Excellent food and wide selection of beverages. Hat City is child friendly – that is if you let your kids stay up that late.
http://www.hatcitykitchen.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shuffle-Jump-Moan/379081422265206?fref=ts
January 25th, Saturday, 8:00PM-11:00 – Shuffle Jump & Moan at Trend Cafe, 411 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair NJ 973-744-1333
Trend Café is a cute and funky little sandwich & dessert place located in the heart of busy downtown Montclair. Please note that I use “funky” in the positive sense of the word here. SJ&M will be doing our usual mix of blues and R&B. One mild warning – when I say “busy” downtown Montclair, this is no exaggeration – downtown Montclair gets packed on Friday Night. You may have to park several blocks away – or in the parking deck. But please don’t let that discourage you. Trend Cafe is also child friendly – that is if you let your kids stay up that late.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shuffle-Jump-Moan/379081422265206?fref=ts
http://www.trendcoffee.com