War!!!

 I have declared war on the ground squirrels

    I have holes all over the yard.  There are even holes toward the front of the house.

    It's my fault.  I feed the birds, and the ground squirrels feed on whatever they drop.

    Some people call them chipmunks, but they are ground squirrels.  Sometimes they are also called squinny.  Don't know why.  I believe they are the 13 lines variety, very common in Illinois.

    Maybe the new state flag should include ground squirrels.

    The holes lead to burrows that can stretch up to 20 feet long and have multiple entries, according to Wikipedia. I have at least 20 holes in the yard!  

    So today I put out traps.

    Don't fret.  These are humane traps.  I trap them live, then take them out into the country, away from homes, and dump them.

    I put traps out this morning and already caught 1.  This one was in a burrow up by the house.

    Hawks, owls, cats, fox and other animals can eat them.  They just haven't.  Last year we had a crane hanging around the house.  I Googled cranes and found out they will eat them too!

    The traps are new in the yard so Beth stares at them and barks.  And barks.  And barks.  Hopefully she gets used to them soon.

    I also have to check the traps regularly.  I would hate to have one in a trap and not have food or water for a few days....kind of defeats the purpose of trapping them live.  Unfortunately, I have done that.

    I guess after a while I will take some dirt and try to fill the holes....but that may be a waste of time and effort if they holes still have inhabitants.

    Time will tell.

    I also fixed our grill today.  I put a new regulator on and it works fine.

    Now, if I could only figure out the golf cart.

Peace and Love