DETROIT — It can be an easy thing to forget, but here's another reminder for car owners: Check under the hood every now and again.

A Gaylord resident, Kellen Moore, popped the hood of his car to find these pine cones stuffed around his engine in a photo that went viral this week.
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A Michigan resident found that out the hard way last week.

Kellen Moore, of Gaylord, Mich., opened the hood of his car and found a squirrel (or several squirrels) stashed more than 50 pounds of pine cones in every possible free space and corner around the engine. Gaylord is about 204 miles northwest of Detroit.

Gabe Awrey, a friend of Moore's, shared an image on Facebook on Friday.

It took two people about 45 minutes to clean the engine of all the pine cones, Awrey said.

"I'm going to strangle that squirrel with my bare hands," Moore cracked in a Facebook comment on the post.

The best news to come out of this, however, is that the car still runs fine after the clean-up. But maybe use this as a reminder of what can happen if you don't check your engine often.

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Braves first baseman Matt Olson (left) is greeted by Ronald Acuña Jr. after batting during the MLB Home Run Derby as part of the All-Star Game festivities on Monday, July 14, 2025, at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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