I am a homewrecker. Ever since I've moved into my new apartment, I have been cleaning cobwebs, squashing ants, and generally displacing all the creepy crawlies that had taken up residence there (the place had been empty for a month or more before I got there).
The biggest displacement so far has been Henry. Henry lived in the ceiling above my second bedroom. When I first moved in I could hear him scratching around in the ceiling. E insisted he was a rat. Maybe more than one rat. Personally, I found the idea of Giant Rats of NIMH with their glowing red eyes living above me too scary for a good night's sleep. I preferred to think that a raccoon or maybe a possum was making the noise.
Well, yesterday the landlord brought over an animal control specialist. They found an opening under the eaves that they plugged with wire. When I got home last night, I heard a terrible racket on the roof of the kitchen. I opened the back door to see what was going on, only to come face-to-face with Henry.
Henry is the biggest, fattest squirrel that I have seen outside of my mother's yard. And he was very, very angry. He sat on the fence flicking his tail and chattering at me. He spent the whole evening running along the roof, looking for a way into his home. Smudge found him outside the bedroom window on the padio gate, again flicking that tail and chattering away. This morning as I was showering I saw squirrel-butt swinging outside the little window as he tried to force his way between the rafters.
Poor Henry. He's very distressed about losing his home. I can't say I blame him. But I do think I will sleep better without hearing him scratch all night long.
