Up early as was due to be in Elvington by 10.30, to meet Mike, who responded to my request for an air rifle on Freecycle, by inviting me to borrow one of his. He'd asked me if I'd had any experience of them, and I said, no, not since my Dad let me have a few goes on his when I was about 14. He told me that he'd show me how to do it, and asked a few questions about our garden as some places are not suitable for using air rifles.
So I set off soon after 10am and zoomed out and Mike was waiting for me at 10.32... not bad timing! I locked my bike and he took me, his dog, two air rifles, a bipod and two tins of ammunition pellets out to a farm about 10 minutes drive away. He's related to the farmer and goes to shoot pigeons in a barn where they roost and foul the straw bedding and hay fodder. The pigeons he gets are fed to the cats that the farmer keeps. Mike set up a target using hay bales, a wooden board with an A4 paper bulls-eye on it, and showed me how to use the basic rifle, which has the charge of air put into it by 'breaking' it and flexing it to just past right angles. It takes one pellet at a time. I had a few goes and I think he was surprised how good a shot I was.
Then he showed me the multi-shot air rifle, which has a magazine of 12 pellets, and is powered by a little CO2 canister similar to one in a sodastream fizzy drink maker. This had telescopic sights, which made seeing the target much easier, and the gun was lighter too, and easier to hold. However, when the canister is full, the pellets go faster and end up higher on the target, and as the pressure reduces, they go slower and gravity pulls then down, so aiming is much more difficult. However, the ability to pepper the target with holes withing a short space of time makes up for this.
I chose to take the single shot one with me, and when we got back to his place, it went into a plastic sack and into a pannier, and I cycled home. On the way back, I found a pheasant and a crow which had been killed by motor vehicles, so I popped them in my trailer to add to my compost. I also collected some branches and they went into the trailer too, for the stove.
Had lunch, and then did a load of weeding in the garden, picked beans, and was interested to see the squirrels seem to have lost interest in the walnut tree. Maybe it's the curry?
In the evening I had problems getting onto the internet, so couldn't finish or publish my blog and couldn't do my usual facebooking. But I did do a large pile of pears and apples... and the stove is very well laden now.
Showing posts with label squirrel problem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squirrel problem. Show all posts
A good day for me... up early and then at 10.30 I headed off to St Nicks to meet Peter, whom I met yesterday. He was very interested in our local eco centre, as he believes that to spread the message of how to keep our Planet habitable, we need a network of similar places for people to be educated and be inspired, find information and hold meetings.
So I showed him the various 'bits' of the Environment Centre, the passive solar design, Sedum roof, rainwater harvesting, compost toilets/waterless urinal/strawbale urinal, photovoltaic and hot water solar panels, the energy balance display, woodstove and the York Rotters stuff.
Then we went out onto the nature reserve and looked at the John Lally Wood, the original mature trees in their dips, where the clay cap on the landfill wasn't put. And to the stone circle, the kids playground where a very friendly little boy was playing on a swing with two women with him, and then back to the Environment Centre. Here I had a brief chat with Catherine and left Peter chatting with Ivana.
I came home via Freshways and picked up a sack of wilting greenery and sad foreign vegetables. I had the usual sandwiches for lunch. Whilst eating lunch Gill and I spotted the very persistent squirrel leaping over to the walnut tree and leaving with another nut. It (or they?) has had about half of the crop so far, and I'm getting increasingly annoyed as I really want a crop of walnuts. The live trap is being ignored... fresh walnuts are obviously too much of a pull. A few days ago, last week, I rang the RSPCA about their advice about squirrels and how to deal with them. Drowning them is illegal, as is releasing them elsewhere, as they are officially vermin. We're talking about the American Grey here, introduced as a novelty by the Victorians, and they've pushed our native Red Squirrel to the brink of extinction due to competition for habitat and because of the Squirrel Pox virus that they carry, which kills the Reds. The RSPCA told me that I ought to get a pest control person out to kill the squirrel in the trap. They'd either do this with a gun, or release it into a hessian sack and hit it on the head when it was in the corner of the sack. So it's a bit of a problem, as I don't fancy the clobbering method and I understand why drowning them is inhumane, and I haven't got a gun. Still trying to work out solutions, and a second phone call to the nearest vet didn't get any results either.
But I'd heard that squirrels don't like chilli so Gill mixed up some curry powder with Vaseline, and we spent half an hour wiping as many nuts as we could with this, just a thin smear, to get the taste onto the nut. I have no idea if this will prevent them getting taken.
At about 2pm, a Freecycler called Chris called, and delivered a stainless steel sink which he's taken out of a kitchen he's doing up. Our white enamel sink is horrible and stained and Gill's been asking for a while about replacing it. This one seems to be the right size, although it needs the tap moving so the drainer is on the right.
I did some chainsawing, to keep on top of the bits and bobs I regularly bring home. I also did a bit of compost management, and some weeding, and picked the three remaining Winter Squash.
For tea I had a stir-fry of courgette, home grown sweetcorn and green beans, the pakora from the Sheffield Freegle Ceilidh and a couple of felafel, which Gill bought. Gill had made a delicious chocolate and banana cake so I had a small square of that... yummy!
In the evening I made up my muesli, made some carrot and tromboncino squash soup, and did another large batch of fruit for drying...
So I showed him the various 'bits' of the Environment Centre, the passive solar design, Sedum roof, rainwater harvesting, compost toilets/waterless urinal/strawbale urinal, photovoltaic and hot water solar panels, the energy balance display, woodstove and the York Rotters stuff.
Then we went out onto the nature reserve and looked at the John Lally Wood, the original mature trees in their dips, where the clay cap on the landfill wasn't put. And to the stone circle, the kids playground where a very friendly little boy was playing on a swing with two women with him, and then back to the Environment Centre. Here I had a brief chat with Catherine and left Peter chatting with Ivana.
I came home via Freshways and picked up a sack of wilting greenery and sad foreign vegetables. I had the usual sandwiches for lunch. Whilst eating lunch Gill and I spotted the very persistent squirrel leaping over to the walnut tree and leaving with another nut. It (or they?) has had about half of the crop so far, and I'm getting increasingly annoyed as I really want a crop of walnuts. The live trap is being ignored... fresh walnuts are obviously too much of a pull. A few days ago, last week, I rang the RSPCA about their advice about squirrels and how to deal with them. Drowning them is illegal, as is releasing them elsewhere, as they are officially vermin. We're talking about the American Grey here, introduced as a novelty by the Victorians, and they've pushed our native Red Squirrel to the brink of extinction due to competition for habitat and because of the Squirrel Pox virus that they carry, which kills the Reds. The RSPCA told me that I ought to get a pest control person out to kill the squirrel in the trap. They'd either do this with a gun, or release it into a hessian sack and hit it on the head when it was in the corner of the sack. So it's a bit of a problem, as I don't fancy the clobbering method and I understand why drowning them is inhumane, and I haven't got a gun. Still trying to work out solutions, and a second phone call to the nearest vet didn't get any results either.
But I'd heard that squirrels don't like chilli so Gill mixed up some curry powder with Vaseline, and we spent half an hour wiping as many nuts as we could with this, just a thin smear, to get the taste onto the nut. I have no idea if this will prevent them getting taken.
At about 2pm, a Freecycler called Chris called, and delivered a stainless steel sink which he's taken out of a kitchen he's doing up. Our white enamel sink is horrible and stained and Gill's been asking for a while about replacing it. This one seems to be the right size, although it needs the tap moving so the drainer is on the right.
I did some chainsawing, to keep on top of the bits and bobs I regularly bring home. I also did a bit of compost management, and some weeding, and picked the three remaining Winter Squash.
For tea I had a stir-fry of courgette, home grown sweetcorn and green beans, the pakora from the Sheffield Freegle Ceilidh and a couple of felafel, which Gill bought. Gill had made a delicious chocolate and banana cake so I had a small square of that... yummy!
In the evening I made up my muesli, made some carrot and tromboncino squash soup, and did another large batch of fruit for drying...
A good day, up early and encouraged the children to get out to school on time, and then went on the computer to do today's emails and facebook messages.
Gill had an appointment mid morning so I stayed in to deal with the Suma order which arrived at about midday.
During the afternoon I got a lovely message from someone. The message says it all:
"You may not remember but I watched you do a Professor Fiddlesticks show a few years ago and afterwards we had a chat about juggling. I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that I've recently been reading your blog and I really enjoy it, your positivity is a real inspiration to me. I feel the world would be a better place if there were more people like you."
I replied with a big thank you and an invite to come and visit, and maybe see St Nicholas Fields.
The reply was incredibly moving and left me in tears:
"I'd wanted to write to you for a while but I was concerned it would seem odd (I have some issues with anxiety or 'nerves' which cause me to overthink things) I looked your name up out of the blue one day to find out if you were still doing Professor Fiddlesticks and I was amazed to see all the good work you did on the green side of things. As I read on through the diary I could really feel a positivity and enthusiasm that inspired me during a slightly dark time. My 'problems' were nothing major, just some concerns about what I wanted to do in life and whether I had made the right choices. I found what I needed in your words to reassure me that you can do whatever you want to in life. The fog lifted then and it was a wonderful realisation, there are people out there who lead a somewhat modest life and are happy and others who have lots of material things who are not. At the moment I'm doing some work down south so won't be back up north for some weeks but I would love to come to York to shake your hand, see the environmental centre and ask a few questions about my own green living aspirations."
I thought about this for the rest of the day. I feel it is just as important that I get positive feedback about my lifestyle choices as it is that I encourage and support other people (which I do a lot of, mainly privately and not explaining in great detail on the blog). We all have doubts about how we live and the choices we've made, even people who come across as very sure about their path, and for me, this message was very life affirming. Thank you to the person who sent it and I look forward to meeting you soon.
In the afternoon I decided to have a go at protecting my walnuts from marauding squirrels, so I put several bunches in plastic bags. I've had success in previous years with plastic bottles, but getting them onto the tree is not easy. I have no idea if bags will confuse squirrels, or whether they will just laugh at them and tear them open to take the walnuts out. Maybe I should consider getting a squirrel trap.
After tea I dug out a New Zealand pallet bin and put it all into the newly reconstructed Komp 700 on a solid based pallet, hopefully this will be less easy for rodents to access. My rat trap is working well at the moment, placed inside covered containers and baited with bread.
I also did quite a bit of Fiddlesticks stuff today, several phone calls from people booking me and a chat with my agent about a future gig. However, the most important bit of 'paperwork/admin' I did was to initiate a CarFree York group, on facebook initially, but I hope to expand this to a website and meetings, actions etc. This felt like a positive thing to do.
Gill had an appointment mid morning so I stayed in to deal with the Suma order which arrived at about midday.
During the afternoon I got a lovely message from someone. The message says it all:
"You may not remember but I watched you do a Professor Fiddlesticks show a few years ago and afterwards we had a chat about juggling. I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that I've recently been reading your blog and I really enjoy it, your positivity is a real inspiration to me. I feel the world would be a better place if there were more people like you."
I replied with a big thank you and an invite to come and visit, and maybe see St Nicholas Fields.
The reply was incredibly moving and left me in tears:
"I'd wanted to write to you for a while but I was concerned it would seem odd (I have some issues with anxiety or 'nerves' which cause me to overthink things) I looked your name up out of the blue one day to find out if you were still doing Professor Fiddlesticks and I was amazed to see all the good work you did on the green side of things. As I read on through the diary I could really feel a positivity and enthusiasm that inspired me during a slightly dark time. My 'problems' were nothing major, just some concerns about what I wanted to do in life and whether I had made the right choices. I found what I needed in your words to reassure me that you can do whatever you want to in life. The fog lifted then and it was a wonderful realisation, there are people out there who lead a somewhat modest life and are happy and others who have lots of material things who are not. At the moment I'm doing some work down south so won't be back up north for some weeks but I would love to come to York to shake your hand, see the environmental centre and ask a few questions about my own green living aspirations."
I thought about this for the rest of the day. I feel it is just as important that I get positive feedback about my lifestyle choices as it is that I encourage and support other people (which I do a lot of, mainly privately and not explaining in great detail on the blog). We all have doubts about how we live and the choices we've made, even people who come across as very sure about their path, and for me, this message was very life affirming. Thank you to the person who sent it and I look forward to meeting you soon.
In the afternoon I decided to have a go at protecting my walnuts from marauding squirrels, so I put several bunches in plastic bags. I've had success in previous years with plastic bottles, but getting them onto the tree is not easy. I have no idea if bags will confuse squirrels, or whether they will just laugh at them and tear them open to take the walnuts out. Maybe I should consider getting a squirrel trap.
After tea I dug out a New Zealand pallet bin and put it all into the newly reconstructed Komp 700 on a solid based pallet, hopefully this will be less easy for rodents to access. My rat trap is working well at the moment, placed inside covered containers and baited with bread.
I also did quite a bit of Fiddlesticks stuff today, several phone calls from people booking me and a chat with my agent about a future gig. However, the most important bit of 'paperwork/admin' I did was to initiate a CarFree York group, on facebook initially, but I hope to expand this to a website and meetings, actions etc. This felt like a positive thing to do.
A very wet day which I spent mostly inside the house... Gill took care of getting the kids ready for school, although asked me to come downstairs to sit next to one of them to encourage him to get ready. This seemed to work but I do wish they would respect their mum enough to just do as she tells them, first time, without getting me to be her back-up or 'heavy threat'.
But I had a good day, spent quite a lot of time researching various issues and preparing stuff, answering the phone, washing up, dealing with dried fruit and more.
Made a nutloaf for the children to have for tea, picked beans in the garden and admired a pumpkin which is growing well. However, was HORRIFIED to see that all the remaining walnuts on our expensive tree have been removed... Gill saw a squirrel this morning. I think I'll have to invest in a squirrel trap, the little non-natives are so destructive... I don't enjoy killing animals but I do kill rats and I think squirrels are just as bad, although haven't resorted to destroying them yet.
A quiet evening... my eye which got a shredded thingy into it yesterday seems to have developed conjunctivitis so I took it easy and just chilled out (well, got over-warm in front of the stove!) and had a skype chat followed by a game of Scrabble with Gill. I managed to get two 7 letter words, Wallies and Venously and I won.
But I had a good day, spent quite a lot of time researching various issues and preparing stuff, answering the phone, washing up, dealing with dried fruit and more.
Made a nutloaf for the children to have for tea, picked beans in the garden and admired a pumpkin which is growing well. However, was HORRIFIED to see that all the remaining walnuts on our expensive tree have been removed... Gill saw a squirrel this morning. I think I'll have to invest in a squirrel trap, the little non-natives are so destructive... I don't enjoy killing animals but I do kill rats and I think squirrels are just as bad, although haven't resorted to destroying them yet.
A quiet evening... my eye which got a shredded thingy into it yesterday seems to have developed conjunctivitis so I took it easy and just chilled out (well, got over-warm in front of the stove!) and had a skype chat followed by a game of Scrabble with Gill. I managed to get two 7 letter words, Wallies and Venously and I won.
