Brick-a-doom: plays once every 100 years
Tuesday October 06th 2009, 8:58 pm
Filed under: Wildlife

Okay, so it’s not much of a brick.  I remember when I lifted it to put on top of the tomato netting my moment of surprise at the thing’s being quite lightweight–but still, it seemed to do an okay job of helping fence off my now-fading plants.

I first noticed the squirrel gnawing on it yesterday. Today it was at it again, and I noticed it had managed to move the thing over a bit, though it still couldn’t squeeze under the netting.

Rodents by definition have teeth that never stop growing, so they have to chew to keep them from growing right through their heads, but it seemed to actually be eating the darn thing. I watched it swallow, looking thoughtful. Yum? Tastes like chicken?

A brick?! Okay, well, beats chewing on the fence or the awning poles, I guess, for my purposes, anyway. No de-fence-iveness allowed, no pole-emics.

Maybe it’s trying to tell me my sun-drying tomatoes need a little calcium in the dish.  Maybe it’s just being bright-eyed and Bush-y-tailed: “Brick it on!”

Or maybe it’s just trying to collect some brick-a-brac for its collection.

Maybe the truth is, it just couldn’t make it as a Rolling Stone and a Slipped Brick was the closest it could come. I could maybe see it odd-itch-oning  (fleas!) if it were a chipmunk off the old block, but squirrels should strive for higher a-chew-ve-mints.


15 Comments so far
Leave a comment

I didn’t know this interesting fact “Rodents by definition have teeth that never stop growing, so they have to chew to keep them from growing right through their heads”
Love the pictures eating a break sounds harsh but like you said maybe there is something in the brick it needs:) Hugs Darcy

Comment by Darcy 10.06.09 @ 11:55 pm

I love how you put everything together in this post. I am still laughing over some of the puns(?).

Comment by Laura 10.07.09 @ 4:04 am

Cute! Do you think that perhaps it started it’s own “stash” before you put the netting and the brick down and it is just trying to get to it? Never mind……they can just be pesky!!!!lol.

Comment by Joansie 10.07.09 @ 4:49 am

Floss! That’s what it is to him…

After all this chumping and chewing, of course he needs to floss. Healthy gums are part of a healthy lifestyle.

Find the name of his dentist. I’m sure he’ll confirm this to you. 😀

Comment by Suzanne in Mtl 10.07.09 @ 5:27 am

Goodness! Wood, sure, but a BRICK?!

Comment by Channon 10.07.09 @ 5:51 am

We have a set of deer horns hanging on the fence. Guess what the squirrel chews on? I have been told that rodents, like chipmunks, do this in the wild as a source of calcium but what do I know?

Comment by sherry in idaho 10.07.09 @ 7:13 am

Like Darcy, I hadn’t realized that was the defining characteristic. I started googling because my naughty cat killed a mole recently (yes, another gift inside) and I thought moles were rodents. BTW, I’m planning to buy some steel wool to place in the small gaps made in the breeze bricks to deter any true rodents from setting up winter residence this year.

Comment by LynnM 10.07.09 @ 7:51 am

So, your plan is to “moan” the squirrel to death to defend your plants.

If the squirrel ate the brick, then it passed through its digestive system, would it be s****ing bricks? Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Comment by Barbara-Kay 10.07.09 @ 8:27 am

I couldn’t begin to add to that flood of puns, so I’ll just say that I got a lot of laughs from you and others.

On the other foot – tooth — hand — try this:

George and Charlie had been best buddies since they were little kids. And they both just loved baseball. They played sand lot ball as kids, played on the high school baseball teams, and even played a little semi pro ball when they finished their schooling. And when they were too old to play, they’d go to games, keep all the relevant statistics, knew who all the best major league players were, and even got to a World Series game or two.

Well, advancing years catches up with everyone, and one day when the two of them were well up into their 80’s, George said to Charlie, “You know, my friend, we’re not gonna live forever. And I have a proposal to make.” “What’s that?” asked Charlie. “It’s this, my friend. The first one of us to die is to come back and tell the other whether there’s baseball in Heaven.” “Sure,” said Charlie, “Good idea!”

Sure enough a couple of years later old Charlie passed on. And a couple of days later George awoke one night to find the spirit of Charlie near his bed. “I’ve come to complete our proposal,” said Charlie. “And I have good news and bad news.” “What’s the good news?” asked George. Charlie answered, “Yes, there is baseball in Heaven.” “And the bad news?” “You’re pitching Sunday.”

Comment by Don Meyer 10.07.09 @ 9:39 am

I think it’s just trying to chip away so he can move it. To where? No clue. 😉

Comment by Alicia 10.07.09 @ 2:12 pm

Go Figure! You know, if that squirrel sawed it’s teeth down on the brick it would then, just naturally, lap up the dust for a li’l calcium intake. Yuck. But to each his own favorite lap goodness. 🙂

Our leaves are only slightly turning to color, but I do have some Eastern/Southern fall doin’s pics for you today: http://foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/2009/10/fall-yall.html

Comment by Toni Smoky-Mountains 10.07.09 @ 3:23 pm

My first thought when you said brick, was in the computer programmer vein. As in,”This modem is bricked”. (ie the modem is only useful as a brick now…..)

Comment by Carol 10.07.09 @ 7:31 pm

ok, I’m rolling on the floor over this one — wonderful!

Comment by Bev 10.08.09 @ 8:49 am

If you need any extra critters, I’ll mail you some. I’m anxious to get rid of my groundhog. Ya want? It’ll eat up any good vegetation you have, but never weeds.

Comment by ruth 10.09.09 @ 8:14 am

My goodness, you’re on a pun-role today aren’t you?

Comment by Marlene 10.09.09 @ 8:40 pm



Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

(required)

(required)