I've held off on my dead animal in walls story, since it's not related to
any project I was working on, but it's a good one.
I was friends back in grad school with this guy who used to be a chimney
sweep among other things. Once while cleaning a chimney, he came across a
squirrel mummy, in the standard hideous dessicated pose. Since my friend was
also known for producing rather odd works of art, he took the squirrel,
mounted it on a board, and wrote numerous bits of advice and random answers
on the back of the board. This became the "Great Squirrel Oracle" and every
new visitor to the house was presented with the opportunity to ask the Great
Squirrel Oracle a question, then turn the board over to find a satisfactory
answer.
Now I can stop thinking about that everytime another cat in the wall mail
comes through.
cheers,
Andrew R. Sewell, MS, RPA
Principal Investigator
Historic/Industrial Archaeology
Hardlines Design Company
4608 Indianola Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43214
(614)-784-8733
fax: (614)-784-9336
www.hardlinesdesign.com
The morning's when actions are taken
That're better left lorn and forsaken.
So, if you want to present us
With decisions momentous,
It's best to wait till we've awaken.
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Catherine B. Parker
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 7:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: dead Cats in Walls
I have never come across a raccoon or squirrel, but I did find (during a
major remodeling) two birds which had become trapped and dessicated behind
tar paper covering the inside walls of a friend's garage. At some point
during the construction process, a young hawk apparently chased a flicker
behind the tar paper, down between two studs--and neither one was able to
negotiate the way up and out. They were still intact twenty-odd years after
the fact, but their feathers were really ruffled, to say the least!
Another friend (?) gave me a "mummified" rat which, after eating poisoned
bait, fell into an open bag of cat litter and spent at least one summer
there.
Catherine B. Parker
Faunal Analyst
University of West Florida
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