The day that Squirrels tried to take over Indianapolis and the Hoosier hero that saved the city and possibly the world

I don’t like squirrels. That fact must be understood before reading further. I’ve discussed this before.

So as I’m reading this article in the CJ this morning, Hoosier squirrels going nuts over acorns' absence, by Will Higgins, you can imagine that I was amused and pleased. Squirrels are running short of nuts. “If the squirrels are going to die, they’d better go ahead and do it and decrease the surplus population”, I thought to myself happily.

But then my heart, already full of glee, nearly exploded with glee upon reading this excerpt:


In the fall of 1822, a horde of squirrels ran rampant through Indianapolis.

The rodents came "swarming through the town," according to the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. The region's corn crop was "literally destroyed."

Calvin Fletcher, one of Indianapolis' leading citizens at the time, claimed that during the mayhem, a single farmer killed 248 squirrels in three days.

A nameless squirrel killing machine and American (and Hoosier) Hero. This guy killed an average of 3.4 squirrels per hour for three days. Bravo nameless Hoosier squirrel killing machine! Did he shoot them all? Use a big stick? Sword? Was he some sort of Hoosier ninja? You just know I’ll be doing more research on this.

Surely there must a statue of this guy somewhere in Indy. Had the dirty little rodents succeeded and taken Indy, the crossroads of America no less, what would have stopped them from taking the rest of the country and then the world?

God bless brave Hoosiers with crazy rodent killing skills.

For more anti-squirrel reading visit Dead Squirrel.com.

Progress is progress & Death to Squirrels Update

Progress is progress. Some sanding was done over the weekend but the intermittent rain today has prohibited me from putting any primer on. And in case you are wondering, that does piss me off.

Continuing the theme from the last house update, here’s more detail on the work. After removing failing paint, I use a standard five inch orbital sander. I usually start with 80-grit sandpaper and finish with 100. I use 60 on the really nasty stuff but must careful with it because it can chew up wood quickly.
There’s hand sanding involved too, especially on the crown molding which really cleans up nicely. The goal is to get a smooth surface to paint on.
If the weather had cooperated I would have primed everything I’d sanded, but only after giving it a good cleaning.

Squirrel update – from atop my neighbors roof, a tree rat mocks me by apparently dry humping the roof. He knows I don’t have a high powered rifle with which to end his pathetic existence. At least not yet. To refresh your memory on why all squirrels must die, read this past posting or visit this website.