Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for November 15, 2020

I though Mark rober made the squrril picnic table first.oh well, learn something new every day!

The dynamic duo is baaaaak!

Homestyle is a squirrel? I guessed a chipmunk.

that’s a lot of stars

Homestyle, of course, is more magnetic than regular squirrels.

Trust Bea to Always be in the know! And she sure knows Homestye and Thimblefist from days of yore! A delightful Sunday cartoon, Georgia!

No squirrel magnets for me, but a covey of quails dines under my bird magnets.

What do the People do with all the birds and squirrels that get stuck on the magnets?

The first squirrel picnic table:

https://i.insider.com/5e94a6ce0b3c9b6c7e3f9d03?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

I used to live in a historical rental house that is now over 200 years old. There were many squirrels in the yard. They were adorable until the day I opened the seldom-used closet in the spare bedroom to find that they had managed to somehow get in there and start to build a nest on the shelf! I removed the evidence (there were no iccupants) and the landlord took care of the repairs. I slept in the bedroom that had the door to the attic stairway and was reading in bed one night when I heard an eerie “scratch, scratch, scritch” on the other side of the door. That time, the invader was a bird. Never did figure out how it got into the attic but had a heck of a time getting it out of the house. I miss that shabby little place. The rent was $150 a month. It has changed hands over the years and the inside has been modernized; last time I saw it on the market, the asking price was a quarter of a million $$.

I think my neighborhood hates birds and squirrels. Quite a few trees have been removed. Most were sick and old. And even though we have laws in this State about Removing a Tree Must be Replaced with Two Trees… I’m not seeing any replacements. Poor critters.

Hey, I know that squirrel! I recognized her by her soup-can armor.

I just had to look up the squirrel picnic tables.

AAAAAAAAHH!! 8DDDDD

SUNDAY FUNDAY TIME

I love squirrels! Friday I bought three bags of walnuts and took them to the park and gave every squirrel I saw a walnut to add to their winter stash.

Some of the squirrels have put on a nice layer of fat, but I was shocked at how thin so many were.

Then I came home and found I had somehow gotten hundreds of small burs on my clothes, and I had to pick the nasty things off one by one.

I had to have a piece of walnut cake to make up for the annoyance.

BoCH—panel 3! Yay!

Back in Chicagoland, my Family would put out seeds, and older bread and suet, and fruit, all winter.

“The future is Wow!”

Gonna steal that line.

It’s good that they’re intending to feed the squirrels. Probably.

I have a squirrel feeder in my back yard on one of my live oaks. The little fellas really appreciate it! I think a few of the felines like to watch them eat through the window in the morning as much as they like to follow the birds outside.

Tiny picanic tables and free food for squirrels? But none for us poor bears? :’-( This is gross injustice I say!

And why install sticky traps to torture poor little squirrels? This has to stop.

Umm, tree rats. However Florida roofers are making a very good living replacing lead vent boots that have been chewed by squirrels.

I wish squirrels well (as long as they stay out of the house), but rely on them to find their own food. I rely on birds to find their own food, also. Now cats and dogs do need a bit of help.

OT. Yen

I’m surprised that Puck isn’t on his perch watching all this.

We have one ground squirrel in our yard. I really have no trees for them, so I’m always excited to see one. I do feed the birds through the winter though and I have lots and lots of birds. Enough to go broke feeding if I’m not careful!

We’re discontented with trees we’ve ascended

But now we’ve discovered our own

My friend, this place is a lovely oasis

Where stale bread’s weary taste is unknown

Far from the crowded stone wall

Here birdseed flows in an endless stream

Cozy to hide in, to eat side by side in

Can’t believe we’re livin’ the dream

Picture me sipping thimbleberry tea in

This tree for two

And two for tree

Walnuts for you

And peanuts for me, alone

Can’t believe how happy we “can” be!

(Irving Caesar – Tea 4 2)

Just finished replenishing bird magnets, but use baffles. I do provide the squirrels with their own seed and peanuts spread on ground with a bit of crack corn thrown in for the turkeys who pass through. I did see a YouTube video about a gourmet cook who has a picnic table set for a chipmunck and prepares gormet food for it. She named the chip Thelonious Monk.

Meanwhile, Back on the Nile

Beatrixia: I just got a letter from Adobe Style in Afar. She’s inviting us to a nest warming at her new place!

Thomios: Ooh, that gives me an opportunity to try my new nuts and fruitcake recipe.

Elvis-Anum: I wonder what kind of gift we should get her.

Enter the Royal Procurers

Agnes-Ata: Hello, everyone! We just came back from Afar to see Adobe Style’s new place.

Elvis-Anum: How did you get there and back so fast?

Ta-Natash: You really don’t want to know!

Agnes-Ata: Anyway, we have it on good authority that she has always wanted a new sewing room.

Queen Catshepsut the Golden: What a wonderful idea. What does she need for a sewing room?

Enter Maat-Tilda

Maat-Tilda: Your Majesty, I have a list of items Adobe Style would like to have. Weaving implements loom large on the list.

Lupinium: I have a new idea for a tongue twister.

The Queen: Let’s all get started. Adobe Style is going to have the best nest ever!

How does Thimblefist pick up the tiny seeds?

Little overkill there, little dude.

Such a peaceful, lovely Sunday strip. Thank you, Georgia.

Most people who like to watch birds consider squirrels to be pests, because they eat enormous amounts of bird food, and bird food is expensive. A bird feeder can be completely emptied by squirrels in less than a day. I’d rather watch the squirrels outside than the birds, myself.

Those picnic tables will not promote social distancing! :-p

I have a combination bird/squirrel/chipmunk magnet. I had intended on it being a bird magnet, but happily accept the others. During the winter at night sometimes, a deer family will visit. Once in a while it is also a raccoon magnet, but hardly ever.

I enjoy all the little critters outside these days. The squirrels are amazing and plentiful. Birds, chickens, ducks, feral cats its like a symphony of action out there. And geese too.

Oh, I’m sorry to be that person, and I understand how Georgia could be lulled by the siren internet. It’s hard to remember in the viral rush that just because it’s the first time someone posts something doesn’t make it the first time something was done or that they invented/wrote it/dreamed it. The “squirrel picnic table” has been around as folk craft long before fb and youtube. My great-uncle had one in the hill country in Texas back in the 1960s. And local boy scouts here up north were following a pattern handed down for sales every year from by the 70s. I believe the first one was probably built by some grandparent to amuse a kid, or a frustrated gardener signaling their final surrender.

hey we have a birb magnet

Five stars is usually the more customary amount, but okay, whatever toots your horn. :P

BoCH!!!! Also, BoSH, twice!!

At our house, the squirrels and chipmunks are equally drawn to the birdfeeders filled with sunflower seeds. I did put up a dedicated squirrel feeder once, and stocked it with whole corn and peanuts in the shell. Not one stinking squirrel even visited it, even though it was deliberately easier for them to reach in and take food from. Nope, they prefer to contend with the hardware cloth fabric of the birdfeeders (which they sometimes tear large holes in). Destructive little snots.

I love squirrels. Some people would be outraged by squirrel magnets.

You know that in panel seven Elvis it actually peeking between his toes.

And then there’s Thelonius Chipmunk: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgLdk5p8d6/

Squirrels are really cute until you feed them up, they multiply like rabbits and neighborhood kids try to pet them.

And now, I just need the local squirrel to stop digging up the bulbs I have planted for spring.

THIMBLEFIST!!! I NOW MUST GO PUT ON MY SHOUTMUNKS RECORD!!!

the beginning

http://www.breakingcatnews.com/comic/everything-is-broken/

Today is:

National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day: Which should have been two weeks ago, right after “Haunted Refrigerator Night.” Flamethrowers optional …

George Spelvin Day: The theatrical version of “The Man Who Never Was.” I can’t help thinking that somewhere in the world there actually is someone named George Spelvin—poor guy. Probably had his name changed to Aloysius.

Steve Irwin Day: Otherwise known as “Waltzing with Crocodiles Day,” Especially the ones named “Matilda.” There was a rumor he was killed by a crocodile. Not true. It was an unlucky strike to his heart by a stingray. Even if it had missed his heart, he would have been in deep trouble. I don’t know the circumstances. I was taught never to get closer than an arm’s length to a sandy bottom, and if necessary, lead with a flipper.

National Spicy Hermit Day: No, not talking about salacious hermits. A “spicy hermit” is essentially a loaded sugar cookie, containing a variety of spices and anything else you care to cram in. I’ve never before heard the name, but I’m told they are popular in the eastern US and Canada. There are many theories as to how they got the name, none of which are spicy. So make up your own.

National Bundt Day: So named because Gugelhupf was too complicated to for Nordic Ware™ to sell. They added a “t” to the end so they could trademark it—and it’s now as enforceable as “Kleenex.” _Gugel_" is “cowl” in English, which makes sense as they look a bit like very fluffy cowls. However, hupf means “hops.” Was the original concept a cake made with beer? That might be interesting. Monks wear cowls, and some are noted for their beer. Some monks are hermits. Could it be an allusion to a well lubricated spicy hermit monk? I think we should continue this discussion over cake and beer—lots of beer.

I love her world!

And then they’ll wonder why the squirrels are getting into the house, annoying the cats, and chasing off the birds.

About 2 hours ago on Mudd said,

There is a BEAR that comes by and emptys my feeder,if I forget to bring it in at night. Bends the feeder pole [7/16ths steel} when it grabs the feeder. sigh.

That’s an adorable peach motif dress the squirrel is wearing!

My feeder IS a picnic table. It’s sitting in suck a place that there is lots of cover to escape around it.

There’s something poignant about seeing diners without masks…raccoons excepted, of course.

OT: Thank you!

Hopefully, they make tiny picnic tables for birds!

I can’t believe how much time I just spent reading these comments!

I bought a trap at the Tractor Supply store and caught 24 squirrels. I’m now squirrel free for 2 years. I let them go in an open field a couple of miles from my house. I’m not inhumane.

Trying to attract squirrels is like trying to attract rats.

Mark Robert did a great video that I think Bea would really like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGgand the sequels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg5wznn3IBE