Castle Shop

Made Dan a castle this morning and the first thing he did was sell me ice cream from over the battlements, I hope he doesn't become a salesman. Apologies for the glare.

Backpacking

Flagrant Dan pics from the airport.

Assorted Toddling Dan the Man

Some pics off my iPod of the boy. They include such classics as: rock in a Jasper car park, in a play area near Rhys, in a different play area, and of course the old favourite, eating an ice lolly at Mary's.

Playing at the park with that Mary Girl

We had a very nice morning feeding ducks and playing at the park.  Young Natalie and Mary came over and a fun time was had by all, first feeding the ducks then shouting at them.  Toddlers love ducks.

Squirls & Chainsaws

This past week has seen me fighting to protect what's mine from the evils of nature.  This year I have heard squirrels on the roof many, many times but in the past month they found a way into the roof.  We don't have an attic so they were between roof and ceiling and were happily chewing on stuff and making much noise.

Something had to be done and a plan was hatched.  The squirrels had to be removed and their means of entry barred.  After some investigation I found they were getting in through a hole they'd gnawed in a long vent on the roof of the 2nd storey.  Being a liberal animal lover and married to the same we decided to use a humane trap to get rid of them.  So I placed the trap on the roof and removed some of the branches that were overhanging the house.

First night I caught my first critter so I drove out into the darkness and released it many miles away, apparently they have a strong homing instinct so there's a ten mile minimum.  Second day I caught two more so they were shipped off to separate secret locations and released, slight slip up here as one ran under the car as I was pulling away, safe to say he won't be coming back, felt guilty all the way home.  Caught the fourth one the next day after a storm, he looked very unhappy and drenched but he survived the long journey to a new life.

Now I was fairly sure they had all gone so I made another step towards full Canadianship and purchased my first chainsaw.  Only an electric one but it definitely does the job,  A morning of removing large branches, not damaging the house and stripping smaller branches was very rewarding.

So now we seem to be squirrel free and they will have a much harder job of getting back in.  I still need to liberally apply wire mesh to the roof to fully prevent access but I still get the happy feeling of a job 90% done.  Total cost $160 ish and I have a trap and a chainsaw to show for my money.