It gets worse. It turns out his name is "Eddie."

Once you go "squirrel" you never go back......

Hah - love that.

Why do squirrels enjoy such a good reputation? They're rodents! You know, rats! Apparently a fluffy tail is a saving grace. Give a rat a fluffy tail, and suddenly the "ick" factor is gone, and it's now a cute, adorable animal.

Squirrels generally don't eat garbage, spread diseases and bite you. BTW, I know several people with pet rats. They make nice pets.

I also know someone with a pet rat, and his rat is a very nice fellow. Rats don't typically bite either, unless they're cornered...but so will a squirrel. Rats have the sense to be afraid of you. Squirrels do invade homes, though, gnawing their way in.

My sweet little old pug lady Holly weeps in sympathy. Mainly because she wants some Ritz crackers, too.

Don't worry, Lucy, it's just a tree rat. Eventually, a cat, a car, or a predatory bird will turn the interloper into lunch. I've stopped hating them now that I have effective means to keep them out of my bird feeders.

Greg will get over himself, and woo you back with Scooby snacks.

Black squirrels will never stop being bizarre.

Speaking of squirrels:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nn0UkdDArM

Squirrels aren't just hairier rats. Their behavior is totally different from rats. They're classified with prairie dogs and apparently descend from a type of beaver.

Some squirrels can fly. That's pretty cool. And they ferment nuts to get high. If you ever see squirrels acting really crazy, there's a good chance that they're high, or rabid. Stay away from them either way.

At first glance, I was all, "Hey, it's a stripeless skunk... or is it a black weasel?"

The first time I saw a black squirrel was two summers ago. Around here the black ones are ground squirrels.

Squirrel!

Ha! Tell that to families whose attics have been overrun with squirrels, Tina. They're rodents blessed with a fluffy tail.

Regarding my friend with a rat, he was actually interested in me (my friend was, that is, not the rat), but his rat is what kept me from becoming involved. Not because of my aversion to the rat, but because his rat provided a clue that I was dealing with a sadist.

I was visiting his home and he was showing me his pet rat. It was a handsome rat, as far as rats go. it was honey-colored, about the length of a football, not including the tail. Then, holding his rat, he approached me, with kind of a mischievous look. The only thing I "knew" about rats came from the final chapter of George Orwell's "1984."

Knowing what he was about to do, I started to panic. "Don't put it on me! Don't put it on me!" I said, again and again.

He placed it on my shoulder. I was worried that if the rat bit me or something, I'd panic and send his pet flying. "Get it off me! Get it off me! Get it off me!" I pleaded. Finally, he complied.

Once I saw that his rat was a harmless fellow, I eventually pet him and played with it a little. So, they CAN make good pets. He's a nice rat, really.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for his owner, and that was the last visit I had with him. I had made it as clear as possible that I didn't want him to put it on me, and he did it anyway. I might have seriously hurt his pet if I panicked completely and flung it away. And I don't care if you think a person's fears are justified or not; that is NOT how you help someone overcome them. That was cruel to me and his pet. I couldn't imagine the rat appreciated being placed on someone who was in a growing panic.

Up till then, I thought he was a pretty nice guy. Thankfully, in a courting situation, the warning signs show up. You just have to look for them.

But it was good, in a way. I had overcome my fear of rats and realized they aren't so bad. They have the sense to be afraid of you...as opposed to bugs. Kind of a funny story. Once, when I was desperate for funds, I took a job doing day labor, and was assigned the filthiest job I'd ever had. It was just me and a woman. She was ordinarily a truck mechanic by trade, but she had just gotten out of jail. She had to carry a backpack that accessorized her ankle bracelet. GPS-thingie. A more primitive version than Martha Stewart's.

She was decked out in a flannel shirt, workboots and jeans. And she was no slacker. If I had to pick up something and move it, she was on the other side of it helping me carry it. Our job was to clear the garbage that had gotten wedged in between a strip mall and the dumpster. Over time, due to the ineptitude of the dumpster-truck driver, more and more trash had been gotten stuck. So, there we were with out hoes and rakes, pulling the trash out and throwing it in the dumpster.

Then as we were pulling out garbage, we unearthed some rats. Suddenly, the jailbird truck mechanic who worked like a mule launched into a high-stepping frantic dance, waving her arms through her hair. "Ugh! Get it offf me! Don't let it get in my hair!" The rats hadn't touched either one of us, so I have no idea why she apparently thought the rats were climbing up her.

Finally, when the dance routine subsided, I casually pointed to the other side of the parking lot, where the rats were scampering away from us.

More recently, I had found that a rat had gotten into my storage shed. Which meant a trip to the do it yourself exterminator, since my cat was useless in this regard. My cat is the terror of strays that wander in my neighborhood, but she doesn't have a hunter's bone in her body when it comes to rats or squirrels. She'd probably invite him in for tea and scones. The exterminator showed me the traps. "Snap traps and glue boards," he said.

He demonstrated the snap trap for me, explaining that it would kill the rat instantly.

"How do you get it off the glue board?" I asked.

"You don't need to," he explained. "You can just drown it, or hit it with a hammer."

This wasn't what I had in mind. "Do you have any Havahart traps?" I asked.

"You mean, let it go?" he asked, incredulous. Then he launched into a tirade about how many rats a pair of rats can make in one year. I think he said 150,000. Which I find hard to believe. Apparently, if they could even approach that number, predators must be doing a good job.

Oh, well, I guess he was no help to me. I'm just not into killing things gratuitously. Rats might be offensive creatures, but nature will have to police her own. I'm not going to do it. I'll just take my new Havahart trap as the need arises and catch and release.

How to be mean to your dog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw

Apparently, the plague has been forgotten.

Have a heart... not a brain.

It could be worse...

http://www.vtwinmama.com/demonic_squirrel_riding_story.htm

Read something interesting about this lately. I was reading a Web page concerning the periodical cicadas. As folks in my neck of the woods are well aware, the Great Southern Brood of the 13-year cicadas emerged this year. (They're just now dying off in my area.)

The article said to expect a drastic drop in the squirrel population next year. Why? The cicadas lay their eggs in the ends of tree branches, which damages the trees. It will cause the oaks to produce far fewer acorns than normal this year. Without acorns to stock up on, a lot of squirrels will die over the winter.

Radwaste: Apparently, the plague has been forgotten.

When the plague resurfaces, I'll reconsider my stance on the rat population. Then I'll be using my Havahart trap to catch the rats, give them flea baths and treatment, then let them go...it was the fleas that spread the plague, not the rats themselves.

Partick, most likey the rats in your area are an invasive species, and the exterminater was right rats have a geatation period of about a month and give birth to 9 to 12 babies five times a year.

You arent doing anything any favor by letting them live