Where are they coming from?

It’s like an invasion. Every day new ones are coming. I’m trying to control them, but it seems useless. First there were only red ones, now the big, grey are moving in. I’ve been catching them and relocating them, but it seems when one is gone, another one shows up. They are a big nuisance.

What am I talking about?

#Squirrels.

Is there an underground movement among the squirrel community? I wonder. The moment I catch one it seems word must get around in squirrel-land that space has been opened up and there is room for a squirrel to move in. Let’s face it, they get sunflower seeds, that are actually meant for the birds, and peanuts that are supposed to be for the Bluejays. It’s like squirrel heaven here. There are no dogs or cats on our property, just shrubs and trees for protection and, of course, all that free food.

Yep, they keep on coming. It is well known that they get free housing, start-up money, free health care, and, best of all, a fortune for every child they have. And they have them. At least six in every family. That’ll get them enough money so they don’t have to work for a living. And an incentive to produce more children that put a strain on our education system. They need teachers and schools, which means higher taxes for the working class. They even get free transportation across the ocean.

Oops! Where did that come from? What has that got to do with squirrels?

Actually nothing. So let’s get back to the squirrels.

I don’t know where those grey ones are suddenly coming from. We’ve never had them and now they come in droves. I caught one yesterday and another one today. When I came back another one had already moved in. He walked around the cage but didn’t go in. I also caught a red squirrel this morning and a Bluejay in the afternoon.  That bird was not happy. That’s what you get for going after the peanuts in the cage. Just greedy, I suppose, because I put plenty of peanuts into the birdfeeders. No need for them to try to steal the ones designated to catch squirrels.

Some people I talk to kill the squirrels. I don’t. I relocate them to a less populated area on the other side of the river. The only way they can come back is across the bridge or, in the winter, across the ice. I hope they don’t come back with revenge in the little brains.

Why don’t I want the squirrels? Well, first of all they eat the peanuts and seeds from the bird feeders and one winter they completely destroyed one of the fancy feeders I bought for 30 bucks from Costco. Even though I do have a soft spot for them, they are not welcome on our lot.

When we had a cottage we used to feed them. One was so tame he came onto the porch and took the peanuts from our fingers. He even jumped onto my lap and onto my shoulder and went as far as scratching on the door when we weren’t outside. Actually, it was a she, because when she had young, she pushed them up the stairs to meet us. One year she didn’t come back and my neighbor told me he shot a bunch of squirrels in the winter.

#Mice are another problem this year. When we bought our traps the sales lady told us that they can’t keep the traps in stock, because so many people buy them. Apparently, you can get ‘humane’ traps so you can release the mice again. Now, that’s more crap I can stand. First of all, where do you release mice? And why would anyone do that? They breed like rats…I mean mice. They do plenty of damage and carry diseases. The traps I buy are also humane traps: They kill them instantly. I feed the mice to the crows. They are a happy bunch on our lot. A bit noisy at times, but better than an invasion of mice in the garden or the garage. There are limits to my tolerance.

#Carrot/Ginger Soup

Today I made Carrot/Ginger soup. Actually, there are more other vegetables than ginger in this soup, so it should be called just #'Plain Vegetable Soup featuring Carrots'. I've made this soup before but with different ingredients. I have Kale in the garden which I wanted to use up.I also wanted to use one of my super chili peppers, which was perhaps not such a smart idea, because the soup is very hot. Not for the weak of stomach, but it tastes delicious and is full of good vitamins.

Anyway, here is the recipe:

Carrot/Ginger Soup:  (Made September 3, 2016)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 8 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 smallish stalks of Celery, washed and chopped
• 2 parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1  medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 4 medium sized leaves of Kale (chopped very small)
• 1 – super hot chili pepper (no seeds. Minced.)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½  teaspoon turmeric
• ½  teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾  teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups vegetable broth: Knorr: 1 cube

Note: Instead of broth made from a cube use an additional 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth. Instead of chicken broth you can use vegetable broth.

Directions

• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes or until translucent.  Add the carrots, the parsnips, the kale, and celery and sauté for another 2 minutes.

• Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, paprika, cumin, super hot chili pepper, and honey into the pot of vegetables. Stir the whole mixture and sauté for two minutes.

• Slowly pour the 2 cups vegetable broth into the pot. Add 4 cups of chicken broth. After bringing it to a boil, turn the heat down to a low setting. Cover the pot and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

• Blend the soup in a food processor or blender. Before you blend it, let the mixture cool down. Don’t blend the whole pot-full at one time.

Time for whole process:  1 ½ hour + ½ hour to cool down and then liquefy.

Note: Soup is very spicy. For less spicy don’t use the chili pepper.
Makes 8 servings