I feel sorry for the poor things. I know they just want to eat and live. Drowning them seems cruel (but takes only 20 seconds and they are mostly just confused).. So I considered the options in their lives. It's not like squirrels often die of old age:
1. Grabbed by hawk talons for several minutes and then get ripped apart while still alive.
2. Same with owls...
3. Hit by cars and die of injuries slowly on the side of the road.
4. Starve to death slowly.
5. Freeze to death in very cold winters.
6. Grabbed by dogs and shaken into oblivion after terrible bites.
7. Poisoned or snap-trapped by liscenced people getting them out of attics.
8. Pecked to death by crows.
There are probably others I can't think of but it doesn't really matter. There is (was) this group of squirrels that destroyed most of my garden and I think I got the last one (the trap will remain set until no squirrels attack my vegetable plants).
After reducing (hopefully eliminating) the East Grove Gang who had, as a group, learned to attack gardens, I have had 12 heirloom tomatoes harvested ripe and there are 12 more getting there. Last year, with the East Grove Gang undisturbed, I got 2 tomatoes the whole year.
It is good to be at the top of the food chain.
On the gaming front, I had stayed away from Risk for a week. But tonight I joined a game of 5 players, 2 outpointing me by WAY LOTS. I won. I was shocked because I don't generally do well in multiplayer games and especially I don't do well against VERY more experienced players. But some games just go well. I played carefully. I played well. I attacked when it was best to attack and I defended my borders well.
And Oh my goodness, Ayla has been playin fetch with the old worn-out "softy-mouse" she loves so much. She has brought it back to me a dozen times as I type. Its SO old. There is nothing of the nip in it and it is nothing but the original cloth body. But she loves it so much.
I think I will just spend the next couple hours tossing it to her until she gets tired of it. Ayla doesn't love many toys, mostly plastic milk rings. But as long as she wants to grab softy-mouse, I will toss it to her.
It was a Good Day!
