My Haven…and the Rodents That Destroy It!

On the back patio we made a haven.

A haven surrounded with Tiki torches and lanterns for late night romance. A haven for grilling out.   A haven to dine with the smell of flowers and herbs surrounding us in a night of blissful peace.

A haven mosquitos can’t invade.

A haven flies can’t invade.  Well, if we remember to zip up the sides.

I love to sit out here in my haven on Saturday mornings with a cup of coffee and my Cooks Illustrated magazine, or peruse through my new cookbook by Molly Wizenburg “A Homemade Life” or sometimes, just grab my Bible and spend a few moments with my Creator.

Mr. Wonderful and I love to cook dinner out here some nights and light the torches and relax and enjoy each other’s company.

That is….until…

See first we saw this…

We blamed it on the only dog who could reach the top of the chairs…

After all, sometimes dogs do crazy things.

But then my folks came to visit and one day, while my mom was standing at the kitchen window, she saw the culprit.

You wouldn’t think that something this cute, could cause so much destruction, would you?

That little sucker had not only torn a hole in the chair, but he was pulling out tufts of cotton and twirling it in his hands and stuffing it in his cheeks to take to his nest.  His cheeks looked like he’d just got a huge haul from a an Acorn festival.

If i’d know this, I would have bought a five dollar bag of cotton batting and left it out on the lawn.  Lawn cushions aren’t cheap!

So now, ironically, when the Oklahoma wind comes “sweeping down the plain”?

You got it, the cotton blows out of the squirrel’s nest from way high up in our tree all over our yard.

Just to taunt us.