Not too long after I met my Mountain Boy, and as we were still gradually getting to know each other, he came to visit at the the house and quickly observed that with all of the very large and mature trees there were in the area, this was a magical and safe haven for squirrels.
He laughed as I did at Jamie's antics as she enthusiastically chased, barked at, dove at, and happily terrorized these very cute little things are they made their way around the area.
Knowing where I was born LC asked me at one point what the Norwegian word for squirrel was.
I told him that I did not know and he on the spur of the moment officially decided and then announced with authority that the Norwegian word for squirrel was "vooshen slashen".
I have no idea if that is the correct spelling.
But then again, I am not sure that you can misspell a made up word.
LC quickly taught Jamie what a vooshen slashen was, and would yell and point at them as they passed through our yard, my grown man acting as a spotter for my four legged would-be squirrel assassin.
Both my guy and my dog immediately and easily fell into exactly the same routine when we first arrived back at our house again a few weeks ago.
James is a little older now.
A little slower.
But she still chases with great enthusiasm................
The local squirrels have been a wonderful source of amusement for us since the moment when first I, and then we, moved into this house.
These natural clowns have developed a comprehensive and extensive network of squirrel-highways over the years.
They jump from tree to tree.
They run across fence lines.
They run through the yard and over the porch.
They jump from tree to roof to carport to fence to yet one more tree.
And then scamper across one power line after another.
I have seen James get squirrels so upset that they run half way across a power line, freeze when she is directly underneath them, and then quickly run back and forth for a few frantic moments until they finally decide to make a last ditch life or death dash for freedom.
Squirrels on the move this morning in the yard.
In the trees..............
Across power and telephone lines.........
Jamie spends a lot of time sitting in this exact spot, watching for birds or squirrels or rabbits and generally overseeing her domain...............
Another squirrel running full speed on the power line highway..............
After running at the base this morning I headed for the house to take a shower and then laid down on the couch.
After the hot and humid run of the morning the weather gradually but definitely began to change with the sky becoming more and more ominous.
I knew that the weather was scheduled to change and that a cold front was moving in.
The clash of very warm and humid, and an incoming and fast moving cold front, soon translated this afternoon into first heavy rain, and then eventually severe thunderstorms.
And then I heard it.
I had no idea what "it" was at first, but it was something very loud and violent that was happening outside.
Looking out the window the world had turned into this..................
The winds were very strong.
The hail varied between pea and golf ball size.
The power went out and we learned afterwards that two power lines on the next street had fallen during the storm.
It was strong and violent and was over in less than 10 minutes.
Walking outside to asses after the brief mayhem, the ground was covered with hail and I was disappointed to see that many leaves had blown down from the trees.
They are still only beginning to change.
Views from the front yard....................
LC hurried out into the middle of the storm to partially stash his truck under the carport.
My truck at the time of the storm was at a garage waiting for an oil change.
After the storm we assessed LC's truck and he had a couple of small dents in the hood and roof, two lights on the roof cracked and multiple dents in the metal rim around the windshield.
After calling the insurance company, and then standing in line at a body shop with at least 8 or 9 other people to get a quote on the cost of repairs, we were both shocked at the amount.
It just didn't look like that much.
My truck was in far worse shape.
The guy changing oil was running late and my truck was still sitting outside in the lot during the storm.
At least 30 dents in the hood, a cracked windshield, and multiple dents in the roof.
By the time LC's repair quote was done it was too dark for the body shop guy to look at mine and so we will take it in tomorrow and see what he says...................
We'll be calling our homeowners insurance tomorrow as well to get someone to look at the roof..............
The clearing sky only ten minutes after the storm.............
One last picture of one of our vooshen slashens..............
No comments:
Post a Comment