Working in Ottawa today --The Second Coming of the Squirrel Prince

Good morning folks,

I will be working in Ottawa today and tomorrow.

The second coming of the Squirrel Prince.    Damn.   I was going to write about the virtues of olive oil and its ability to strip black enamel paint off one's hands with relative ease and without the harsh drying and toxic effects of distillate solvents.  That and my hands smelled like salad or perhaps pasta instead of a chemical spill afterwards.

But no.  Instead, squirrels.  You may recall the multipart Daniel v. Rodent series of 2011-12

http://pulp.puckett.ca/2011/11/working-in-alberta-this-week-mouse-hunt.html
http://pulp.puckett.ca/2012/01/heading-to-montreal-return-of-squirrel.html
http://pulp.puckett.ca/2012/01/working-in-ottawa-today-daniel-2.html

Was much fun for all, and now I get to relive it, albeit with less altitude (elevation?) this time as a Racket of Sciuridae has securely moved into the soffit of my garage and front entry porch roof.  It really does not come as a surprise, Sharlene first heard some scurrying or perhaps some scampering some time ago, but try as I may, I did not ever hear anything or anyone nor could I see any point of entry.

Sidebar, a Racket is the collective noun for a group of squirrels, much in the way a Parliament is a group of owls, but of course I always thought that a group of owls should be collectively an Inquisition.  Who?  Who?  I find that hilarious, btw.  Feel free to join me.

And we are back.  This changed through a few events.  A week ago or so I heard them.  Was clearly a scampering across a soffit vent as I walked past the overhead door.  A re-examination of the garage roof and facia and soffit revealed an opening about 1 1/2 inches by 4 inches where the industrious little bastards have pealed back some flashing.  Who keeps giving these guys power tools?

The second event was last night while I peered towards the top of one of the interior garage walls listening as hard as I might when a little face appeared, stared down at me and with a little squirrel voice asked, "hey buddy..  whatcha doin'.. down there on the .. eh.. ground, so low .. you can't catch me eh? .. chortle chortle".   It was bad enough that he taunted me, but as he turned and scampered away, I heard a distinct giggle, some squirrel whispering, and then several squirrels all join in a subdued snickering.  Damn them.

I think it best to not seal up the hole until I catch them all, can you imagine the damage a trapped squirrel could do to the stuff in your garage?  So.. Wednesday evening I will mount a live trap on the top of that same wall, baited with peanut butter, and start a new relocation campaign. 

Operation -- Not so Funny now eh?

Have a good day, don't take any dissin' from rodents.