COVER STORY

“I ran out to the deck, screamed hoping to scare away the beast, which only seemed to ramp up its destructive behaviour” - Amanda, Long Branch Resident

I’ve spent a lot of time here offering ways to improve your life, with inspiration for happiness, gratitude, less stress, etc. How about something different today? I’ll spend some time on the realities of home ownership. A rant. Buckle up!

A black squirrel made a home improvement for herself last week. She built herself a new Airbnb. From a tree beside my deck, she must have spent some time scoping which spot she could reach and temporarily house her pending family. My deck seemed the ideal choice. It offers direct access to a covered nesting space via said tree, then into the scupper accessing the chambers of my deck.

Once the decision of where to build her temporary home was made, she ran along a particularly large tree branch which reaches almost to my deck and launched herself onto the railing. It was quite spectacular and efficient. I’m glad I could make it so easy for her. And then, the destruction began.

To decorate her new digs in a neutral tone, she selected my beige deck furniture covers. She meticulously tore apart each piece and dragged it below to improve the existing living space. In the aftermath, my deck looked like Armageddon. I’m sure she’s quite pleased with herself for a job well done.

So why did this intruder choose to start a home improvement project now? Squirrels mate between December and February. With the gestation period lasting 38 to 46 days, female squirrels will give birth in early spring (February through April). It looks like this mama needed a nest. By improving her living conditions, she’s hoping to improve her babies’ quality of life. Despite this being the normal course of mother nature, I am no longer amused by squirrels. They are now my enemy.

I’m on a mission to evict the squatter.

To be continued…

AMANDA KIRKLAND Personal Development Coach www.amandakirkland.com

BABE—Balanced, Authentic, B*tch, Extraordinaire Personal Development Coach If you are interested in making positive changes in your life, let’s book an initial consultation call. Tell me your story and we can identify what’s blocking you from achieving the results you desire. Email me at amanda@amandakirkland.com or visit www.amandakirkland.com

AMANDA KIRKLAND

It is hard to believe next year will be the twentieth anniversary of the “Gems of the Lakeshore.” Over time, it has evolved into what we are today: the “Gems of EtobicokeLakeshore”. The Gems were created to recognize and appreciate outstanding small businesses, community and service organizations that make our community a more vibrant place to live, work and play.

It is an initiative that I believe is an incredibly positive way to highlight our local businesses and service organizations especially with the COVID reality.

Anyone can nominate their favourite business in the riding. Local Business Improvement Areas act as judges and sift through nominees to choose the winners and I am pleased to organize and work with the BIAs to make sure that the deserving “gems” in our community continue to be recognized and shown appreciation. In our constituency we have seven BIAS: • Lakeshore Village BIA • Long Branch BIA • Mimico Village BIA • Mimico By The Lake BIA • The Kingsway BIA • Village of Islington BIA • Shop The Queensway BIA

Try exploring local businesses in new neighbourhoods.

Voting will open on April 1. You can vote online by clicking on my website, www. jamesmaloneymp.ca or stay tuned for a hard copy nomination form in the mail from me in April and you can drop off your nominations at my office, 1092 Islington Avenue, Suite 202.

The deadline to submit your candidates is April 30, 2022.

The nomination form is included in this issue and on my website. Jamesmaloney. libparl.ca. So get out there and experience all that our incredible businesses have to offer.

I will announce the winners in my Summer Householder so stay tuned.