Monday, November 30, 2009

Uppity neighbors

Well? Aren't you going to share that pumpkin pie?

Thanksgiving means sharing what you have with the natives. Does that still apply when the natives are really annoying? The rest of my neighbors don't sit on my fence and stare at me while I'm working at my computer, which is a major plus in their favor.

I'm wondering if those pictures you see of St. Francis of Assisi hanging out with squirrels weren't photoshopped. Squirrels have some serious attitude. The ones 'round my place, at least. (Don't believe me? If you click on the picture above, it enlarges. Check out the look in that rodent's eye. He looks like he's going to go for my throat. I've got mutant killer squirrels for neighbors.)

All the older portraits and frescoes of St. Francis show him hanging out with birds, wolves, or people. Who can be annoying too, but at least they don't sit on your fence and stare at you while you type.





Exercise du jour: Couch to 5k Week 2 Day 1 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Done! Plus an hour's worth of yoga, she said smugly.

9 comments:

Gigi said...

We had a family of five red squirrels move into our basement last year - talk about pushy neighbors. You give them an inch, they take a mile.

Tricia said...

lol funny

messymimi said...

Yes, squirrels can be annoying. At Disney World once, one walked up to where we were eating at an outdoor cafe and tapped my Bigger Girl's shoe to let her know it expected a handout.

Almost as annoying as our pet squirrel. It was Sweetie's idea, and a terrible one. If you think the buggers are a nuisance outside, wait until you have one gnawing furniture and chewing all the wiring for your tv and game systems -- plus it can't be housebroken and hates men, Sweetie included.

Then you find out that, in captivity, they can live up to 20 years, and ours is only 8....

The Merry said...

Good Lord, MessyM, I've never heard of someone having a pet indoor squirrel before. (Inadvertent non-paying tenants like Gigi's, yes.)

Judging by your experience, I think I'll be grateful that my neighborhood squirrels stay outdoors!

Charlotte said...

Hahah! The squirells here are obNOXIOUS. My kids love to watch them although I'm waiting for the squirrels to carry off one of the little ones... yeah, they're that aggressive.

Crabby McSlacker said...

I USED to think squirrels were a bit obnoxious until we started hosting a family of racoons for a midnight snack several nights a week. (We're housesitting, and they discovered how to get in through the cat door.)

Wanna trade a really cute, clever family of raccoons for all your squirrels?

The Merry said...

Ah, the joys of childhood... one year a mama raccoon moved into the attic and raised a family. The kits liked to romp at 3 in the morning right above my head.

In other words... thanks for the kind offer, but hell no. Those outdoor glaring squirrels are looking better and better :)

RebeccaJ said...

Is it too sad to say that I'm jealous, that squirrel is adorable! I love our nuisance rabbits (yes even when they eat my carefully tended plants), in fact I usually think it's probably my fault....I just need to feed them better. ;)

The Merry said...

Really? Rebecca, you like my squirrel? Okay, he's yours. I'll send him over for a visit. A very long visit :)