A True Story
When I was a kid on the farm we would clean out grain bins getting them ready for the fall harvest. Usually in one corner, or in a randomly placed pail, there would be a pile of grain left by the mice who occupied the grain bin during the summer. Also common was to open a glove box in one of the grain trucks and sure enough, there would be a pile of grain stored in the glove box for future use. Those mice were creative little varmints, as they would also make nests out of the material from the seat cushions. But, we don’t live on the farm anymore.

The Discovery
We live in NW Minot and once in a while we have the odd deer wander through our yard. One evening last spring we had 3 or 4 young deer occupy our back yard for a while. Fun to watch. We have an apple tree that (except for this year) has supplied them with many, many apples. We also have several squirrels that have made our yard their home. Many of our friends tell us they feed peanuts to the squirrels, so we decided we would join the neighborhood trend and provide 15-20 peanuts a day to the squirrels. Yeah, I know. A lot of people are not big fans of squirrels because they tend to overextend their stay, and even chew holes in buildings to gain access. But they are cute, and eventually become very friendly.

Up until this week, I was thinking those were other people’s squirrels that chewed holes in buildings and made themselves a menace. Ours were well behaved. They would share the peanuts we put in the feeders with the birds, mainly blue jays.

My perception quickly changed last Saturday when my sons were doing some minor repairs on my wife’s car. Quickly a text message appeared on my phone. Dad, you aren’t going to believe this…the engine in Mom’s car is full of peanuts, bird food and sunflower seeds. What? Peanuts, you say? Several text messages later I joined the rest of the family members in the garage. No kidding, almost every opening in the engine compartment was filled with peanuts, bird food and sunflower seeds. And, if not peanuts, fiberglass insulation. Peanuts, bird food and sunflower seeds were part of our daily routine for feeding the birds and squirrels in the back yard. I stored insulation in the garage attic for those miscellaneous woodworking projects. How, and why?

The Answer
I am not Sherlock Holmes, but I quickly surmised that the squirrel(s) gained entrance to the garage. We think they probably went in through an open garage door. They decided to build a nest with the fiberglass insulation. That nest would be built in the fender well of our car. And then, to make sure they were secure for any weather ahead, they chewed a hole in the bag of reserve peanuts and started to store them away…somewhat like the mice did on the farm, in the engine compartment, fender wells, air conditioning vents and even behind the headlights. It was a true mess. It took us a couple of hours in the evening, and an hour the next day to clean out all of the areas where food had been stored. Finally, the job was done.

In The Future
OK squirrels, here is a warning. This type of behavior will no longer be tolerated. Going forward everything will be stored in squirrel proof containers. The garage doors will be secured. In case they didn’t get the message, I dug out my old varmint trap (one of those humane types) just in case we need to trap a couple of squirrels and transport them to Oak Park. I sit back and think what would have happened if we had taken the car on the road in the condition it was. It’s a story I’ll probably share multiple times, and I’ll get a lot of shaking heads for sure.

Best Kept Secret
The Minot Park District has expanded the Minot Outdoor Recreation area trails. The new trails are pretty much rustic trails “so if they are wet, they will by muddy” according to Juan Vadell from the Minot Park District. To find this area, go to the trail maps area of the Minot Park District web site. Basically, it’s located just west of Minot on 4th Avenue NW, on the north side. Maps of the area are located at the trail head.

Today’s Chuckle
Evidently the evolutionary purpose of fingers was so we could spend all day tapping on our cellphones.