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Sometimes You Win, and Sometimes You Lose

Well the title of this one pretty much says it all... When it comes to backyard nature watching (and all nature watching now that I think about it), sometimes you win and get the greatest sighting/photo on planet earth... And sometimes you strike out big with a capital "S" and a capital "O".

Here was the game plan... I was simply going to hang an ear of corn in front of the NovaBird camera and then photographically note the goofiness of the squirrels as they wreaked havoc on the corn. (Squirrels will eat the nose off a brass monkey if you just give them a chance.) Simple right? What could go wrong? This could have been a nice, funny, simple post. But noooooo!!!!!!

After letting the camera sit for 10 hours (count 'em, ten hours over two days), the best shot I got was that of an ear of corn swinging in the breeze.

Oh, don't worry... As soon as I admit defeat, the squirrels will swarm all over the corn and that will be that. (The last time I did this they actually took the steel eye hook I had used to secure the corn.) No... Don't worry about the squirrels. In fact, they're taunting me. Laughing in that weird, high laugh they laugh - it's like listening to Peewee Herman after he's inhaled helium. But I can handl...

Arghhh!!!


I just checked the corn... It's gone. All of it... Cob and all... Gone. Even the screw I used to secure the ear to the bungee is gone. And the only photo I got was of a squirrel's paw.

The%20paw.jpg


Keep in mind that I have the NovaBird camera set to snap every 10 seconds when there's movement. So, somehow the rapscallion cut the nylon cable tie; he did so in under 10 seconds. (Are those rodents carrying shivs?!?)

Alright... Alright... Deep breath... This now becomes a challenge to my talents as an engineer, and I hereby issue this formal notice to all the squirrels out there... As the great Bugs Bunny said, "Of course you know, this means war!" I will get a phenomenal photo of a squirrel (or better) munching on an ear of corn, or I will eat pie. (And I ain't eatin' no stinkin' pie!)

I'm off now to design a hold-down system for an ear of corn!

CapeCodAlan

P.S. Watch out for that next contest!!!

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Comments

I have a feeling this will be funny!

Laura

Go get 'em, CapeCodAlan!!
You can do it! Everybody knows you're smarter than a squirrel!

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