Tag Archives: all weather gloves

WEARING WINTER HATS AND SAVING SQUIRRELS

If you would like to contribute to Liz’s Bike to Build at NBSS fund, click here.

According to Weather Spark, “the month of May in Massachusetts is characterized by rapidly rising daily high temperatures, with daily highs increasing from 61°F to 71°F over the course of the month, exceeding 84°F or dropping below 50°F only one day in ten.” 

Lucky for us, we experienced an anomaly this past week, as we had back to back “one in ten” days. I don’t know what the exact temperatures were, but suffice it to say I was donning winter water and windproof gloves, knit hats and multiple layers when biking this week. Since “they say” a picture is worth 1,000 words…

dressed for winter in spring

 

Thanks to my recent weight lifting and to my sturdy frame, I managed to hold the bike up the entire ride…and this was no easy feat because the wind was blowing me side to side without my permission. Fortunately, the wind and rain did not put a damper on me because I was wearing my Seirus all weather gloves and my most prized Sugoi Speedster 3 hoodie.  The elements did not affect my ability to groove and move either, as I put my wireless JBL in a ziplock freezer bag and in my back shirt pocket. If only I had windshield wipers on my Oakleys, all would have been right in my world.

As it turns out, conditions for me this week were far better than those facing Sam the squirrel, whom I found in a very compromised position a couple of days ago.

Stuck Squirrel

While walking my hound Hope Thursday morning, we cut behind the former junior high nearby and I discovered a squirrel stuck behind a chain link window-fence. As I got closer, I realized there was a portion of the fence which was open, but the squirrel’s frazzled state caused a temporary amnesia because he was scurrying without a clue of how to free himself. The closer I got to him, the more he huddled into the corner. Clearly, I thought to myself, “Sam doesn’t realize that I am a kind, gentle humanitarian who wants nothing more than to free him.” As I took my eyes off Sam for a second, I realized Hope was drooling and seizing with excitement because her tongue was anticipating a lunch of squirrel a la carte.  No wonder why Sam is pressed into the corner…perhaps he is appropriately concerned for his safety. Although my heart ached to leave, I decided to walk Hope home, and allow Sam to come out of his hypervigilant state for a few minutes.

When I returned on my bike about an hour later, I wasn’t sure if he would still be there, but I came armed with a granola bar nonetheless. The plan was to use the granola bar to coax Sam out of the corner and back into the real world again. I lined up pieces of granola bar in the fence, every few links leading towards the opening;  and I tried my best to persuade him of my good intentions. After several minutes of this, I realized the positive reinforcement approach was futile, so it was time for another tactic. I grabbed the closest stick I could find that was at least arm’s length, to stay clear of Sam’s claws. Plan B worked immediately, as Sam didn’t appreciate getting nudged from behind with a pointy object. Unfortunately, he did not stick around for the granola bar, so I left it in pieces on the ground in case he dared to return to the scene of the crime. Even if Sam did not return for the granola bar, it was all worth it! Scurry on little Sam!

Bad day about to get better.

If you would like to contribute to Liz’s Bike to Build at NBSS fund, click here.