After 2 or 3 days of my not seeing him at all and thinking maybe he had taken the hint and moved on, Squirrel #5 checked out the trap.
In what I take to be his frenzy to get back out he dislodged the dumb little knob that holds the trigger on and completely removed the trigger from the structure. Fortunately I was able to find the knob in the mud, so after the ritual blood-cleansing I put it back together.
I did manage to shoot through one of the bars on the opposite side from the squirrel, though, so we’re accumulating some damage here…
ETA: I’ve noticed it before: Kill an animal in his presence, and Ghost becomes very respectful for a while…
Oh me… almost nothing seems to be built to – you know – actually USE more than once or twice. The bullet damage, however, was not contemplated in the planned obsolesce, mind you.
Did I ever tell you about the time I decided to trap mice in my barn? First morning, I found the trap quite full. The cats were gathered around, very interested. Not having thought far enough ahead to determine how to get rid of the trapped mice, I upended the thing and dispensed them – one at a time – to the waiting cats.
You know what happened then… the cats quit catching mice. They waited patiently each morning for their “canned mouse.” AGGGGGH! And soon we had more mice in the hay than ever.
I was told to get a big bucket of water and drown the mice, still in the trap… but then I’d have another mess. Nuts to it. I sold the trap to my neighbor and the cats soon went back to catching mice. They never got over the desire for “canned mouse,” however.
MamaL, your cats at least had the basic idea right. My cat brought a live mouse inside for me to admire. Said mouse promptly ran under the furniture. I think I’m supporting quite the extended mouse family out in the garden.
Joel, Elvis shot out his television screen, but I don’t think it improved programming. Be careful you’re not creating a generation of squirrel martyrs.