Squirrels - The Need to Gnaw

[Mike Lamb]

[Erby]

Haven't ever seen the squirrel doing it, but have found a lot of gnawed lead flashings.

 

[hausdok]

Yep,

A growing problem with teenage squirrels - sewer gas huffing and huffing parties. A side effect is the urge to gnaw on the nearest object. The squirrel authorities are concerned and want to get the message out to all squirrel parents that sewer gases contain methane, hydrogen-sulfide and other toxic fumes and that huffing sewer gas can lead to death. The teens aren't listening. In fact, a week ago, three of them under the influence of sewer gas knocked over a walnut cache and overpowered and killed the elderly security squirrel guarding the nuts.

 

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Les]

every time I see the word "squirrel" in print I think of Kurt M.  He had a thing for squirrels.  Maybe that is why we were friends for soooooooo long. 

 

[Chad Fabry]

On 9/16/2019 at 12:28 PM, hausdok said:

Yep,

A growing problem with teenage squirrels - sewer gas huffing and huffing parties. A side effect is the urge to gnaw on the nearest object. The squirrel authorities are concerned and want to get the message out to all squirrel parents that sewer gases contain methane, hydrogen-sulfide and other toxic fumes and that huffing sewer gas can lead to death. The teens aren't listening. In fact, a week ago, three of them under the influence of sewer gas knocked over a walnut cache and overpowered and killed the elderly security squirrel guarding the nuts.

 

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

So Mike, do you have any mushrooms  left?

[hausdok]

47 minutes ago, Chad Fabry said:

So Mike, do you have any mushrooms  left?

Hee hee,

Don't need 'em. I live in a place where weed is legal and you can't drive half a mile without running into a pot shop.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[hausdok]

4 hours ago, Les said:

every time I see the word "squirrel" in print I think of Kurt M.  He had a thing for squirrels.  Maybe that is why we were friends for soooooooo long. 

 

Where I grew up, the term squirrel could be applied equally to furry gray or brown rodents that nest in trees or to anyone that exhibited odd trashy irrational behavior. Today we usually refer to such folks as meth heads.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[John Ghent]

 

 

 

[Marc]

Mean SOB.

[hausdok]

Laughed so hard I peed my pants.

My wife feeds this one little bastard peanuts every morning in the back yard.

Tomorrow I'm gonna begin construction of a new squirrel cata....uh, er…., "feeder" for her.

This oughta be good!

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

[HomeInspectionNewark]

We just came across this exact same thing and I was looking to see if others had as well! The flashings were absolutely gnawed to shreds. I was quite surprised to see that extent of damage after getting up there. You truly see it all in home inspection...

 

--

Sterling

Home Inspection Newark

[Les]

Lead acetate has a sweet taste. It's so sweet that it used to be called “sugar of lead.” ... They ate the paint because the paint flakes tasted sweet. That sweetness came from the sugar of lead which failed to transform into basic lead carbonate during the pigment-making process.

 

[Mike Lamb]

[mgbinspect]

On 9/19/2019 at 7:46 AM, Les said:

every time I see the word "squirrel" in print I think of Kurt M.  He had a thing for squirrels.  Maybe that is why we were friends for soooooooo long. 

 

What is Kurt up to these days? I don't see much activity from him here. It looks like his business is perhaps still up and running. He used to be so active here...

[Jerry Simon]

47 minutes ago, mgbinspect said:

What is Kurt up to these days? I don't see much activity from him here. It looks like his business is perhaps still up and running. He used to be so active here...

He wanders the back streets of Evanston constantly seeking new wheels for his shopping cart.  He's a bit beyond semi-retired.

[mgbinspect]

3 minutes ago, Jerry Simon said:

He wanders the back streets of Evanston constantly seeking new wheels for his shopping cart.  He's a bit beyond semi-retired.

Well, that's a shame. He sure kept things lively around here. Of course, I've been out of the loop for several years myself. The last I knew of Kurt's activities was when he went to China.

[Mark P]

On 9/19/2019 at 6:46 AM, Les said:

every time I see the word "squirrel" in print I think of Kurt M.  He had a thing for squirrels.  Maybe that is why we were friends for soooooooo long. 

 

I had lunch with Kurt recently, he seems to be doing well. 

[Marc]

That's great to hear.

[Mike Lamb]

I read that grey squirrels can live up to 26 yrs but usually die by age of 6.  Probably from vaping and lead poisoning.  And squirrel launchers.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Mike Lamb

[Mike Lamb]

[Erby]

Found one just today!

[Marc]

On 9/24/2019 at 11:01 AM, Les said:

Lead acetate has a sweet taste. It's so sweet that it used to be called “sugar of lead.” ... They ate the paint because the paint flakes tasted sweet. That sweetness came from the sugar of lead which failed to transform into basic lead carbonate during the pigment-making process.

 

What if the lead hasn't been painted.  Why do they gnaw at it then?

[Les]

lead alone is sweet and soft

 

[Jim Morrison]

All my adult life I've heard smart people I respect say, 'Lead tastes sweet.'

My question is: How do we know that? Who tasted it and told us? What is the source for this information?

[Jim Katen]

It never tasted sweet to me.

I had a lead stegosaurus that I got at the Peabody Museum when I was a kid. I used to absentmindedly chew on it and it wasn't particularly sweet.  Of course, that was over 50 years ago. I'd be happy to try it again, but the stegosaurus is long gone and the only pure lead that might be nearby would be the sinkers in my tackle box - and I can't find it at the moment.