Day 143 of (mostly*) Staying the Fuck Inside

*Mostly, because our regular Thursday schedule got switched to Mondays.

Besides the crows, we have a squirrel or three that like to compete with the crows for peanuts. Each year, it starts out as a lighthearted battle, before settling into a routine where everybody takes turns.

I’m not particularly good at telling one squirrel from another, but the other day, it would appear that the one who lives in the ash tree next to our house, who is the prime antagonist got run over by a neighbor’s truck.

Since I didn’t feel like crawling under the truck to retrieve (and dispose of) the carcass, we had to divert kiddo’s attention away from the car (inconveniently right in front of our house) as we left to run errands.

Then, when we’d returned the carcass was gone. We live across from a large, wooded park, and I know there are all kinds of critters there, plus we have carrion birds (not just the crows) that occasionally hang out near us, too. I’d thought the problem was solved, until I went to unload the car (by this point kiddo was inside), and I spotted a significantly reduced carcass in our front yard. Something had dragged it out from under the truck, and had set about dismantling it in front of our house.

Since it was not in a condition I felt like dealing with, I decided to give it until this morning, to see if we’d get lucky and something from the park would finish it off last night.

When I went to put out some food for the crows, I caught a whiff of decay. Since it’s going to be 91 degrees here today, I figured I’d suck it up and deal with the remains this morning, so we didn’t have to smell them baking in the hot sun all day (not to mention risk kiddo seeing them when we go out for our now-Monday afternoon appointment). I suited up. Gloves. Mask. Work pants. Glasses. Industrial garbage bag. Small shovel.

No cloud of flies this morning. No sea of ants. All that was left was scattered bits of fur and tail. I managed to scoop all of that into the bag, and dispose of it.

A few years ago, we lost two crows, and I gave them a proper burial. Perhaps if the squirrel had been in a better initial location, I would have done the same. As it is, though, It quickly fed Gods know what, and how many of them. Nature is nothing, if not efficient.

I’m sad to see our buddy go.

But there are more of them.

And they and the crows will continue to do their thing.