I See a Squwill in de Fwidge!!!

There's a long history in my family where squirrels are a menace to our society. It goes back to my Grandmother, Nonee, and may even go back further than that! One can only imagine the run-ins that the Shacklefords have had with squirrels over the years.

The Broom

I've heard the story over the years, but I don't even think that I was a speckle in my Mother's eye when Nonee chased a squirrel all throughout her house with her broom. From what I understand, Nonee nearly tore the entire house apart trying to kill the silly thing. Nonee is a wonderful woman...not only for her laugh, her heart, and her example, but for her dedication. She wasn't gonna let that squirrel win if it was the last thing that she did!

Shacklefords = 1 / Squirrels = 0

The Store

Same scenario here. Uncle Sam ran a Christian Bookstore at one time. A squirrel got loose in the store, and after many, many attempts...you guessed it...

Shacklefords = 2 / Squirrels = 0

The Doubt

I travelled with friends to visit another friend in the military. While visiting, I spotted an albino squirrel. I mentioned this to my friends, and not a single one of them believed me. They all thought that I was losing it.

Shacklefords = 2 / Squirrels = 1

The Car

Rusty and I tried everything we could to keep the squirrels from eating all of the birdseed. We even went so far as to put an oil pan around the pole to keep the squirrels from climbing up the pole. I sat in the window overlooking my unsuccessful bird feeding venture with a pellet gun. Stupid squirrels still found a way. As I was backing our of the driveway one afternoon, I noticed that the little boogers were diving out of the trees onto the top of the birdhouse 10 feet below. As I silently cursed the wretched creatures, I ran right over Rusty's car. A nice black line of paint was not present down the entire left side of Rusty's once yellow car. I'm not liking the way this is working out here.

Shacklefords = 2 / Squirrels = 2

The Toilet

Mom woke up in the middle of the night to hear something sloshing around in her bathroom toilet. She didn't quite know what to think about it. She figured a frog or something had come in through the pipes, so she flushed the toilet and headed back to bed. A few minutes later, the sloshing started up again except this time, it was a little more urgent than the last. Again, she went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet. Whatever was in that toilet was not coming out as far as she was concerned, so she kept flushing and flushing and flushing until the noise subsided. She headed back to bed until she woke up the next morning. As she went back into the bathroom, this time to use the facilities, she opened up the toilet lid. As quickly as possible, she closed the lid and called Rusty. There were no survivors! Mom had drowned the squirrel that had gotten stuck in the pipes from the roof. The squirrel's only way out was through the toilet bowl. Could you have imagined the story I would have just written if Mom's toilet lid was opened when Mr. Squirrel decided to come in to play?! Rusty gathered the squirrel up and took him to the dumpster. Things are looking up for the Shacklefords.

Shacklefords = 3 / Squirrels = 2

This past Christmas, Aunt Corny got me a stuffed squirrel as a joke. She is very aware of the Shacklefords vs. Squirrels situation. This silly squirrel travels throughout the house - hiding in the strangest of places. Rusty tries to scare me with him. The squirrel (whom deserves NO name) has been spotted in the dryer, the pantry, the bathroom, the cabinet with the plates, under my pillow, the microwave, and many, many more places.

Now, Rusty and I are messing with the kids. Rusty hid the squirrel in the refrigerator this past weekend. Sam keeps his drink on the bottom shelf so he can reach it when he gets thirsty. Sam opened up the fridge and started cackling! He said, "I see a squwill in de fwidge"! I don't think that I've ever seen him laugh so hard. He truly thought that it was the most hilarious thing that he has ever encountered. He said, "Squwill is Silwy"!

All I could do was hug him. The squirrels may come up from behind and take over this never ending battle, but one thing is for sure! The Shacklefords and Corleys will never stop laughing!