Squirrels tend to get a bad rap from some gardeners. They often dig where we don't want them to dig, nibble at our fruits and veggies when we'd prefer they didn't, dig up our bulbs, and eat the food that we'd intended for the birds.
On the plus side, they can be quite entertaining with their acrobatic antics and some of us actually find them endearing. One such appreciator of squirrels is Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitator in North Carolina. Last year, she established the first Squirrel Appreciation Day on January 21. So, today, we celebrate the second annual Squirrel Appreciation Day.
To get you in the mood,
here's a link to a few pictures of some of the more than 200 species of squirrels in the world.
The squirrel species that shares my yard is the
fox squirrel and
here are a few pictures of some of my lodgers.
The post on the muscadine trellis makes a nice perch from which to view the backyard.
Squirrels enjoy the big pines trees in my neighborhood, many of which are now dead and some of which have already been removed.
The old apple tree used to be a favorite place for a squirrel's afternoon nap on a hot summer day. The tree is gone now so he'll have to find another limb this summer.
The area under the bird feeders always has plenty of sunflower seeds for a squirrel's snack.
Always alert! A squirrel has to be if he hopes to be long in this world.
When a squirrel has an itch, a squirrel has to scratch!
And when a squirrel's got a thirst, a squirrel's got to drink.
Take a moment to appreciate the squirrels in your yard today. Or if you can't bring yourself to appreciate them, at least tolerate them!
I love watching the squirrels! They are welcome in my garden as long as they don't raid the bird feeders (I have baffles so they are protected). Your captures are great! I especially like the one of the lazy squirrel. The fox squirrel I am familiar with is the masked faced one. If you are interested I did a post on it last year. http://gardeningsoul.blogspot.com/2011/05/masked-face-fox-squirrel.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Karin. I'll check it out. I'm always happy to meet another appreciator of squirrels!
ReplyDeleteDorothy,
ReplyDeleteI'm forwarding this to my sister. A mommy squirrel gnawed my sister's wooden screen door in order to break into her kitchen. Mommy squirrel knew that's where the 40 lb bag of peanuts was kept ! How would you like to fine a squirrel in your kitchen? I think the two of them are trying to work out a way to co-exsist.
Squirrels can be very innovative and downright devious when it comes to getting at foods they want, NBG! But I think it would be more than a little disconcerting to find a squirrel in my kitchen. (Of course, my cats might find it entertaining!)
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