Speed Bump by Dave Coverly for April 20, 2023

So many squirrels, so little time.

No reason to strain yourselves guys. Just keep sitting back enjoy your cold drink. Chase squirrels later.

That is a BIG herd of squirtles. We feed ‘em (well, we feed the birds, and they cadge) and only have nine, maybe ten who come for the food. That I’ve ever seen at the same moment in time. Because we don’t have any other reliable way to differentiate them. Except Stubby who lost much of his tail.

If you’ve barked at one squirrel, you’ve barked at them all.

Is this what’s meant by “dog day afternoon?”

do they live next to a nut farm?

Bark at them all. You don’t want any to feel left out.

Our family Black Lab had a standing appointment with a squirrel every morning. It waited on the rail of the downstairs side door. Pax would bark and chase it up the first tree on the frontage, and it would sit up there and chitter at her. That made her look at Dad and wag her tail.

One morning, she needed an early walk rather urgently. I took her, so she didn’t go out at her usual time. The squirrel was waiting for her, chittering at Mom & Dad, asking where the dog was. It seems it thought they had an arrangement.

Or just tweet at them.

You can tell them apart?

They can kind of just let the squirrel choose. Whichever one completely crosses the fence and is the first to set foot in their yard is the one to bark at first.

The one on the left is having trouble choosing a TARGET.

This reminds me of watching kids spending 3/4 of their time setting up the rules for whatever game they want to play than actually playing.

This is the price dogs pay for gentrification.

And the neighbors thank you for not barking at them!

If there is one thing that tweaks my son’s dog it is a squirrel. He has literally ran THROUGH the wooden fence twice, trying to chase them. At 75 lbs it is like a ramrod hitting the wood.

Sorry squirrel, the “barks” closed! You should have seen the sign out front!

Next time we stretch our legs, you take that one and I’ll sneak up on this one…

Backyard at the old dogs retirement home…

Dog equivalent to browsing through streaming services deciding what to watch.