It’s a changing season and the squirrels are feeling the need to make a warm, cozy nest to curl up in for those chilly winter nights. They have spent weeks harvesting hazelnuts for food and stashing them away. Now they are working on their next priority – shelter.

The rope you see the squirrel chewing on is holding up a float used in fishing to mark where a crab pot or a prawn trap is located under the water. Or it could be used as a bumper between boats that are tied up next to each other.

I don’t think the squirrel cares what the float was used for. It is only interested in the fuzziness of the rope, that makes it perfect for adding an insulating factor to the nest of dry leaves it has stashed away somewhere in the middle of the woodshed.

But how to get the rope away from the float? The squirrel has been working on it for days and days and days. It is almost ready to let go; only a few strands are left holding the fuzzy ball of rope to the rest of the line. Watch how he keeps rolling up the fuzzy fibers and pulling to try to get it to let go of the rope.

So far, it hasn’t worked. Just a few strands left to rip off. He’s pulling with all his might. It might be just a matter of more muscle.

He must be so frustrated. Watch his new trick where he approaches the problem from another angle. He’s quite the acrobat, holding on with his back feet.

Now you must be wondering if he ever got that piece of rope. Well, this morning when I went out to look, the fuzzy part he had chewed on was gone. The line holding up the float is getting thinner. One day both the squirrels and I will be surprised to see the float on the ground.