There, it's out.
When Don was young, he hunted squirrels, in part, to assuage his hunger, but they were hard to clean, and nowadays we have better options for meals. As much as he hates wasting meat, all it takes to send him running for his gun is to see a fat squirrel hogging the bird feeder. I'm not condoning or condemning this behavior, only relating the facts.
Don tells me in his defense that squirrel season is open, he has his hunting license, and there are hundreds of squirrels on our property. As he puts it, "since they have abundant crops of acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and other squirrel menu items, why should they have to eat the bird seed? I only shoot the bad guys. They're the ones that don't stop with eating the bird seed; they're not content until they eat the bird feeder, too. "
The other afternoon, while I was working downstairs, I heard a peck on the window and went up to investigate. There, sitting in the bird feeder, was a black vulture, demanding his squirrel for lunch.
And where were all the songbirds? Well, naturally, those poor little things were high in the trees, waiting, once again, for a place at the feeder.
The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.