Thursday, March 10, 2016

Olga the Savage Watchdog


Last night Dave and I watched "All the President's Men" -- choosing it for my library bookshelf made me want to see the movie again, and I just finished a book about Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers that neatly segued into the saga of Watergate. I suppose I really should read ATPM. Maybe this summer.

Anyway, as we watched, a fox ambled past our back door in the darkness, only inches from the glass. Olga didn't stir.

"Olga, you're fired," Dave said to her snoring self.

She's also proving not very adept at keeping squirrels away. Yesterday something -- almost certainly an écureuil -- knocked a pot of bulbs off our garden table, right outside the back door. The pot is still out there, smashed to pieces on the patio. The squirrels have been really destructive this spring, also digging up several of our plants. Little bastards!

We bought some new food for the squirrel feeder, and I'm going to put it out in the hopes that it pacifies them. Of course, it may just attract more. Who knows?


Some good news on the plant front: my purple heart cutting, which I had feared was dying, has rebounded and is growing quite happily. My Mom reacted with skepticism to my report in January that it was wilting away -- "I thought you couldn't kill those things!" -- and ultimately she was right.

(Top photo: An apparently nameless hotel in Cricklewood, Northwest London.)

9 comments:

37paddington said...

Squirrel feeder....hmmmm. But then, I live in New York.

e said...

I like Paddington's idea...

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I know an excellent food for grey squirrels. It's called "Mort aux Rats".

Lynne said...

I warned you about those little bushy tailed devils!

Ms. Moon said...

I'm sorry Steve, but you're only going to attract more squirrels.
Thank goodness you didn't get Olga for her guard-dog skills. And your mom was right- you CAN'T kill those things.

ellen abbott said...

you might as well feed them cause you aren't getting rid of them...the squirrels, I mean.

Sharon said...

You do have a way with plants. I wonder what it would be like to stay at that hotel. It looks a bit Bates-like to me.

Red said...

...and how many times does the fox go by and Steve doesn't know about it??? Poor Olga! She's getting a bad rap!

jenny_o said...

Everybody gotta eat. Even squirrels :)

I have to say, your title made me pause and raise one eyebrow ... but all was explained. A girl needs her beauty sleep.