"They do it because they enjoy it!"
Small, rodent like, fury, scavengers! From the title of this blog entry, and my current location, you might have thought that I was finally going to complain about mosquitoes. But honestly they don't bug me (pardon the pun) nearly as much as these tricky creatures. Allow me to elaborate...
I have been involved in a constant battle with the local squirrels for the past couple of weeks. They make me so angry I wish I could scare them back into hibernation! Although I've known about my little thieves for a while, the real battle started two weekends ago when my second cousin Elizabeth came to visit.
The weatherport is set up so that my sleeping space is separated from the public kitchen by a makeshift wall made from a cotton sheet and a heavier blanket. So during the day I tie the blanket back, and every night I pull it down. Well, Elizabeth came to Calypso from a 12 day hike in Denali Park, so without question I gave her my bed and decided to sleep on one of the couches in the kitchen area. The second morning she was here "the incident" occured (aka. my first weatherport thief viewing). I had of course been hearing the squirrels chirping away outside the weatherport for a while... but this time was different, I had a front row seat to the debauchery in my home!
The incident went like this:
at 7am they started
first...
I heard squirrel chirping
then....
I heard some scratching on the outside of the weatherport roof
next...
I saw a little squirrel head pop down from the top of the weather port window
finally... when they had decided it was safe enough...
the squirrel popped in the weather port window
subsequently I.....
jumped up and started screaming at him TO GET THE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN!
Since then... we have been at war. In the sense that I try different tactics to keep them out and they, without hesitation, always find a way in. They are in the worst way SUPER SQUIRRELS.
Cara, Spencer and my moves:
a. I pluged up the hole they had created at the top of one of my plastic windows
their move.... come in through the bottom gap in my door
b. Cara screwed a wood plank underneath the door so that they couldn't squeaze through
their move....chew through my other window in a decisively secret place that I
couldn't see until this past Wednesday.
c. Cara and I stapled chicken wire to the outside of the plastic windows and tucked it under the outer canvas so that they couldn't weasel their way in.
their move....has yet to be determined, but I heard them this morning chirping
inside the weatherport, and when I tried to sneak up on them I heard them run out.
My next move will be to shoot one, skin him and eat him for dinner.... just kidding.... maybe......
The problem with squirrels is that once they stake out a good spot to find food, they don't go away. I've heard stories from people who have killed squirrels in their backyards, and they say that the very next day there's a different one staking out the spot. So even though I've squirrel proofed all of the food in the weatherport, they still come in... and they still wake me up by chirping early in the morning right in front of my wool blanket makeshift wall.
All I can say, is that the war is not over yet.
ps. there are new pictures posted
CORRECTION: I think the squirrels have been chirping outside the window of the weatherport because they CAN'T GET IN! We'll see how long I can keep them out....
Friday, June 26, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
I'm in Charge
"YOU'VE GOT AN AMERICORPS"
I am now the supervisor of a poor unsuspecting Fairbanks teenager. yes... I am in a way her boss. This feels a little strange and at times completely un-characteristic, I never thought I'd be bossing around a teenager so soon in my life. Yet here I am.
The story is that even before I got to Calypso Farm, Susan was asking me if I would be willing to supervise an Americorp volunteer. When I was at home, and completely removed from the situation, I agreed that it would be a good idea. At the time though, it was a long shot that we would even get an Americorps. Then the second week after I arrived here I went to a meeting at Joel's Place, the organization that has the funding to put together this program, to talk about the supervisor requirements. I still felt that it was a longshot that I would ever recieve a volunteer though. The difficulty is that Calypso is not easily accessable from Fairbanks, and so few teenagers have cars or the means to get out here (ie. parents are unwilling to shuttle them back and forth).
Pretty soon after this meeting I went to a jobfair in Fairbanks. Talking to potential volunteers I got really excited about the opportunity. There were so many great people coming up to talk to me about the position. But none of those people ended up applying. So I gave up on the idea for the most part until I was hunted down at one of the School Garden's by a girl who was interested in the position. After talking with her a few times she decided that she couldn't make the time commitment. Then another girl Mariah heard about the position through an outreach e-mail I had sent out to the homeschool community. She seemed very into the whole idea of organic farming and really excited about the position... but she decided at the last second that she couldn't give up her other job. After Mariah dropped out I was dissapointed, but resolved to work harder on getting community volunteers for field trips.
Then last Wednesday Jaime called Marylee saying she was interested in the "field trip" position (ie. CALYPSO FARM!), and by Thursday she was up here! Jaime is not like any of the other potential volunteers I spoke to. She is reserved. When I talked to her over the phone for the first time I was even a little worried, because when I asked her if she was interested in organic farming she said "sure." Nevertheless I decided to give Jaime a chance and she is really working out. We had our first "Wool and Felting" field trip last friday and she jumped right into helping the kids felt wool and learn about the Calypso Farm sheep. Over the past few days I feel like I've watched her open up a little more. She seems to really like the people here, and to enjoy working on the field trips. I do have to push her a little bit to take more of a responsible role. She is aprehensive to run a station by herself. She also never eats the food we cook for lunch. She prefers to bring a sandwich from home even though I have told her multiple times that she doesn't have to.
So I'm slowly learning how to be a responsible adult. I don't know if Jaimee knows it... but I think I may be learning as much from her as I hope she is learning from me!
I am now the supervisor of a poor unsuspecting Fairbanks teenager. yes... I am in a way her boss. This feels a little strange and at times completely un-characteristic, I never thought I'd be bossing around a teenager so soon in my life. Yet here I am.
The story is that even before I got to Calypso Farm, Susan was asking me if I would be willing to supervise an Americorp volunteer. When I was at home, and completely removed from the situation, I agreed that it would be a good idea. At the time though, it was a long shot that we would even get an Americorps. Then the second week after I arrived here I went to a meeting at Joel's Place, the organization that has the funding to put together this program, to talk about the supervisor requirements. I still felt that it was a longshot that I would ever recieve a volunteer though. The difficulty is that Calypso is not easily accessable from Fairbanks, and so few teenagers have cars or the means to get out here (ie. parents are unwilling to shuttle them back and forth).
Pretty soon after this meeting I went to a jobfair in Fairbanks. Talking to potential volunteers I got really excited about the opportunity. There were so many great people coming up to talk to me about the position. But none of those people ended up applying. So I gave up on the idea for the most part until I was hunted down at one of the School Garden's by a girl who was interested in the position. After talking with her a few times she decided that she couldn't make the time commitment. Then another girl Mariah heard about the position through an outreach e-mail I had sent out to the homeschool community. She seemed very into the whole idea of organic farming and really excited about the position... but she decided at the last second that she couldn't give up her other job. After Mariah dropped out I was dissapointed, but resolved to work harder on getting community volunteers for field trips.
Then last Wednesday Jaime called Marylee saying she was interested in the "field trip" position (ie. CALYPSO FARM!), and by Thursday she was up here! Jaime is not like any of the other potential volunteers I spoke to. She is reserved. When I talked to her over the phone for the first time I was even a little worried, because when I asked her if she was interested in organic farming she said "sure." Nevertheless I decided to give Jaime a chance and she is really working out. We had our first "Wool and Felting" field trip last friday and she jumped right into helping the kids felt wool and learn about the Calypso Farm sheep. Over the past few days I feel like I've watched her open up a little more. She seems to really like the people here, and to enjoy working on the field trips. I do have to push her a little bit to take more of a responsible role. She is aprehensive to run a station by herself. She also never eats the food we cook for lunch. She prefers to bring a sandwich from home even though I have told her multiple times that she doesn't have to.
So I'm slowly learning how to be a responsible adult. I don't know if Jaimee knows it... but I think I may be learning as much from her as I hope she is learning from me!
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