Peanuts and Squirrels  
By Maggie Turner  

Monday, April 3, 2000

Peanuts and Squirrels

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Looking out my bedroom window last Saturday morning I spied Gracie out for a walk alone. There is a ravine that runs along the back of the houses on this side of the street, including Gracie's house. She was strolling through the bush along the top of the ravine and stopped to talk to Tiffany, "B&S's" dog, through the back fence. It was quite obvious that she was enjoying the sunshine and her independence. Home now from the hospital she seems to be taking up life again with enthusiasm. She even stopped at the back of "Mrs. G's" yard to collect some brush and throw it down the hill into the bush. I don't imagine she is supposed to be doing those kinds of things but Gracie is not one to be debilitated by rules and regulations.

As I browsed through the news and weather this morning I noticed the sunny weather is not to last out the day. There was nothing for it then but to head to the backyard to continue my quest to gather dead leaves. I did manage to clear one garden bed completely, there are several left to do. Personal taste plays a large role in creating and maintaining a garden. We like natural areas of trees and woodland. Since we live on a ravine this is fairly easy to obtain and maintain.

We also enjoy trying to grow a variety of plants. The wildlife consumes almost all edible plant life, fruits and vegetables, so that it is a waste of time trying to grow these things. This year I have come up with an evil plot to cover the ground with green and growing things. We have transplanted Feverfew to many of the locations where the ground has been stripped bare by animals. Feverfew does not taste good, it smells horrible if you brush against it, and it is lovely, lush and green. The transplanted Feverfew was still alive this morning; I harbor hope.

We have a terrible problem with squirrels. The neighbor "G" spends hundreds of dollars on peanuts-in-the-shell, so he tells us, to feed the squirrels. The squirrel population has enjoyed a well-fed increase. Unfortunately the squirrels like to hide the peanuts in our yard; they dig up the gardens here to bury their treasures. Our entire yard is covered with uprooted plants and grass.

I noticed today that a squirrel had dropped his peanut between the planks in our deck. It was wedged in tight, what to do? Why, chew the boards down around the peanut in an attempt to get it out, that is what! The squirrel never did get that peanut, I came upon the scene of the crime and he/she was nowhere to be seen. I pried the peanut out from between the planks and tossed it into the bush. As I stood up I surveyed the yard with a glare, daring that squirrel to utter a complaint. I was met by silence and comforted by my small triumph retreated to the house for a cup of tea.

Inside the house a corrupted computer awaits my attention. Windows 98 won't boot on "The Teenager's" computer. I fear that the hard drive needs to be reformatted and the operating system and software reinstalled. I have tried quite a few tricks and run the problem by a few knowledgeable people who have come to the same conclusion as I, reformat and reinstall. "The Teenager" is being very altruistic about losing all her files, she mourns the music files in particular. Oh well, she will have all the fun of gathering them once more from thither and yon. They say that getting there is half the fun, a concept I will not share with her at present.