Those of you who’ve known me for a while (like 8-10 years) know that I’ve had a traumatic experience with squirrels in the past. The Spice house on White Pine Lane in SW Portland had a “pet” squirrel who decided to drop down the chimney one day, but he couldn’t get back up. He ran through the house, pooping on the futon couch and eating our bananas. He finally died in the chimney, and the stench was pretty bad. At least that’s how I remember it.
But we’ll get to the squirrels in a bit. First, I need to talk a little bit about water getting in to the 900. After my last post, I dried the car out and returned it outside, where it sat most of the week of 11/13. The sun was out, and the car was uncovered. It rained overnight on Saturday 11/18, and on the 19th I went out to drive the 900 and there was water dripping from the sunroof opening onto the driver’s seat. Again.
Of course, I’d said I would park the car pointing uphill after the last post, but I hadn’t because I wasn’t expecting rain. So I pulled the car back into the garage, where I removed the sodden driver’s seat, then pulled out the front carpet to let it dry, and pulled the pads. Luckily, the carpet and seat had soaked up the water, and the pads weren’t wet. I’m totally amazed.
In any case, Ani helped me put the car back together on Thanksgiving, and the next day we bought a tarp to cover it. It’s evident that the sunroof drains, even when cleared, can’t keep up with the amount of water they get when the car is parked pointing downhill in a heavy rain. That’s probably why the sunroof was “sealed” with duct tape when I bought the car.
So you start with one sharp looking 900…
…then tuck it in with the tarp…
…then put on the car cover so it looks like a big misshapen blob parked in front of the house. The next day I needed my torx driver from the car, so I got to dig into it. Fun.
Of course, then on Saturday the first snow came. Then on Sunday the second snow came. And on Monday the third snow came. Then on Wednesday the fourth snow came. We got about 2-3 inches Sunday, then 3 again on Monday. When we shoveled the driveway, I make a snowbank along the side of the 900. The snow was pushed up against the bottom of the car cover, the 900 was (and is) snowed in. See…
It’s too bad I didn’t take a photo before it all started melting. The 900 really looked buried. This one was just taken this morning, the snow is looking a bit sad.
Yesterday I was looking at the car cover and contemplating getting in the 900 to see if it was still dry and to get my tire pressure gauge. I noticed some garbage in the snow bank just behind the right front tire. That’s the same place where I saw squirrels running under the car during the snow. I assumed they were just using it as a shortcut. But when I looked under the car where the path and the garbage was, I noticed other garbage. Some styrofoam and some cardboard, for example. Stuff that could be used to build a rodent nest.
You can see the little squirrel trail, and a piece of carboard. Hmm. I’m now worried that rodents have made a nest in the engine of the 900. It’s not even been parked there a week. I need to get the cover off of the car to investigate, but that snow is wet, icy, and heavy… I know because I just had to rescue the collapsed canvas cover of Luisa’s sandbox in the back yard which was much smaller and covered with the same amount of snow per unit area… and it was really heavy.
I’ll keep you posted after I get the car cover off. I hope the furballs haven’t chewed up any of my wiring…
