Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for July 03, 2015

Gary should go over to Ten Cats, they can use him there.

Wait for it……….

They formed a Union.

damn place is overrun with ’em…….

When Chipper finally gets untangled , he is gonna let Harvey know what he can do with that leash.

Call Hammy from “Over the Hedge;” he’ll hug the urge out of him.

Sometimes the dogs and squirrels even collaborate….Here’s a product from a new brewery in town

Much as I like to support our local fauna in their business endeavors, I’m not a big fan of lagers.

I prefer a dark brew…however, if you want something a little squirrelly, this stuff is pretty good…

X .. are you back there?Would you like to do a taste test?

Actually I think prefer a pint of the dark with the beer nuts on the side.

Sure, X … I feel the same way, actually…

But I was offering you a taste…. I mean…if nobody tries it, how are we going to decide whether to carry Nutsy and Spike’s new “Barking Squirrel” beer?

Good morning everyone.

Some cats will do anything to get attention and a scratch. But playing with the squirrels that’s just crossing a line that can’t be uncrossed.

Mornin’ Ballardeers I see we’re being overrun by the rats with bushy tails and better reputations, again. Did you know squirrels have poor eyesight ? My cousin found out the hard way, he was attempting to feed a peanut to a tame squirrel and the furry creature mistook his middle finger for the peanut.Aside from the humiliation of having to describe his accident to the doctors and nurses in the emergency room, and being asked if he could identify the squirrel, he was subjected to a rabies shot and several stitches in his finger.In the squirrel’s defense, my cousin had been sampling St. Louis soda pop ( Bud ) and wasn’t exactly holding the peanut in a precise position for feeding. Besides, Cashew, the culprit, never really liked my cousin.

We occasionally loose power here at our office.They checked the lines finding the culprit.Al-Qaida Squirrels.Actually got Home Land Defense notified on this. See every so often one decides to go jihadist on us and takes out the power.They stand on one line suddenly yelling……“Cashews are better than peanuts. Infidels!” then reaches over to make contact with the other line. Sacrificing themselves for their cause.Measures have since been put in to protect our power.I kind of miss those days……to me victory was the smell of brunt squirrel in the morning.We have a new problem now……car jacking. Lady came in freaking out about this monster in her car……yep, they were back. She said she tried to shoo it out but it reared up hissing at her. She wanted me to shoot it. I explained the problems with that. Finally I just opened one door then went over and opened it. Accepting the truce, the squirrel exited the car with several peanuts as payment.

Love all the past comics to go with today’s. Tells quite a story about the squirrel problems on Ballard Street.

Ahoy BallardeersJUST A REMINDER:Don’t forget the BALLARD BAY BALLISTICS & BARBEQUE BASH tomorrow , starting with a breakfast buffet and Bloody Marys at the Tiki , followed by the annual Ballard Street 4th of July parade with a surprise guest Grand Marshall, lots of marching bands, balloons, and bo…er… adult beverages and soft drinks. The day will culminate at Ballard Bay with a bodacious barbeque, a live entertainment extravaganza, the fantastic fire works display and dancing til dawn.HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4th OF JULY WEEKEND !

The ‘Ole Capt.’ Linguist

I can’t help thinking that one of these creatures – squirrel, dog, maybe even a cat – is named “Ballard.”

Love the comments and pictures today. I have my own squirrel story from this morning on 14th Street. When I got up this morning, I looked out my window and saw a squirrel helping himself to my blueberries. I didn’t want to terrorize the poor thing, so I gently rapped on the window to get his (her?) attention. The squirrel noticed me, but just sat there. It took me going out the back door to get him out of my garden.And my wife says they don’t disturb the plants.Right.

What was even funnier…..shortly after I posted the story on our terrorist squirrels…..we had a power outage.Turned out to be a tree but I will wager a squirrel pulled it down.

Mist, that little dog last night, "Do Not Fear . . . " was SO DANG CUTE! I saved it! Thanks for posting that!