One Deck, One Grill, One Squirrel. Of Course.

September 12, 2014January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 25 Comments

[Subtitled: Do Squirrels Eat Hamburgers?]

I happened to be walking through the back of our house when I glanced out the patio door onto the deck and noticed that our Weber grill had grown a tail overnight.

Upon closer examination I noticed that there seemed to be a certain critter hiding behind the grill. So I bided my time to see if, by chance, this critter was our good old friend, Fuzzy. It didn’t take long for me to confirm that Fuzzy the Squirrel was back to his annoying tricks.

From my vantage point inside the house I could see that our friend was using his backside to try to nudge the top off the grill, presumably to get to the hamburger grease + burnt nibbles that were left inside the grill from the night before.

Naturally when I inquired about his sneaky-looking behavior Fuzzy ignored me. He is a master of indifference, so when he turned his back on me I wasn’t all that surprised. Instead, I just waited to see what he’d do next, knowing that he can never stay still very long.

And true to form, with one wistful sideways glance toward the grill, Fuzzy ran away from me along the top of the deck railing toward his home in Tree #3479 in the forest primeval. It is there, I presume, he found something else to do with his time besides making himself a nuisance on our deck.

But he also left me wondering if squirrels eat hamburgers. So I did a quick Google search after which I realized that this question has no reliable answer, but does lead one to an unexpected link to an abstract of an academic paper. Of course.

Hello August, You Cheerful Colorful Month

August 5, 2014August 5, 2014 / Ally Bean / 29 Comments

Our flower garden has become a magical swirl of color…

from the salmon-colored roses that catch your eye…

to the purple petunias that help a pig take flight…

to the bright pink roses that keep the bees buzzing…

to a hand-painted pot of orange zinnias that add some love.

In other words, our garden today looks nothing like it did on a cold February day six months ago. *brrr* The transformation is amazing.

The Unsolved Case Of The Purloined Tomatoes

July 17, 2014July 29, 2015 / Ally Bean / 51 Comments

As I was walking around the back of the house on a bright and sunny summer morning I noticed that a red ripe tomato from my container garden on the deck above had fallen onto the path below.

Curious as always I wondered: How did that happen?

So I walked up onto the deck where I discovered more tomatoes off the vine. Tomatoes with little teeth-y marks on them. Tomatoes that seemed to have somehow fallen from the vine prematurely.

– • –

Immediately my mind went to our ~~favorite sneak~~ resident squirrel, Fuzzy. So I bided my time and waited to talk with him when he stopped by for his daily afternoon visit.

After we exchanged the usual pleasantries, I looked him straight in the eye and asked: Fuzzy, do you notice anything different around here? There seems to have been a crime committed. A theft.

– • –

To his credit Fuzzy took the time to look around before he denied all culpability in the crime. He looked to his left.

He looked to his right.

He glanced immediately below onto the deck.

Then he suggested that the real culprit in this crime was that nasty old raccoon who lives in the old tree on the other side of the ravine.

– • –

When I mentioned that the nasty old raccoon hadn’t been seen in years and was presumed dead, and therefore incapable of stealing green or red tomatoes, Fuzzy ignored me. This was of no concern to him.

Having answered my questions to his satisfaction, Fuzzy then set about doing that which he had come to do: he started licking the terra-cotta pot to get his afternoon salt feast.

And I was left with the impression that I’d been conned once again by Fuzzy the Squirrel.

– • –

As Unlikely As This Sounds, We Visited A Midwestern Castle

June 19, 2014July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 17 Comments

ONCE UPON A TIME… a few weekends ago… Zen-Den and I finally visited a southern Ohio castle that I’ve heard about for decades.

The Castle and the surrounding gardens are officially named Chateau Laroche. They were built by an eccentric genius named Harry Andrews, who after serving in WWI decided to promote peace and build his own castle based on the ones he saw in Europe during the war.

First, he used his smarts to become a knight by creating his own order, The Knights of the Golden Trail. Then he built his castle using, among other things, the stones he found along the river. After he built most of the castle, he moved into it and lived out his days in the slightly modernized parts of Chateau Laroche.

The castle, which is open to the public on a limited basis, is one of the most unusual, almost dilapidated historical properties I’ve ever wandered through, over and around. Here are some photos.

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