They get into our bird feeders and spill all the seeds. They dig through our seasonal yard displays and rearrange everything looking for food. Squirrels can indeed be pest and many people do not like them but...they provide us with lots of amusement since we are indoor cats. Especially during this dull time in January when nothing much is going on indoors or out, squirrel TV keeps us entertained.
Squirrel Appreciation Day began in 2001 with a Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabber and affiliate of the WNC Nature Center right here in Asheville, NC. Today is a day when we should try to be kind to squirrels - leave out food for them, wish them well and be thankful for their amusing antics during the long cold winters.
Some squirrel trivia -
Gray squirrels come in many colors. Shades of gray are the most common followed by shades of brown. There are also pure white and pure black squirrels, but both are variations of the gray squirrel.The common Red squirrel can have an all black coat. While the Kaibab squirrel has a black body with a white tail. Both are found in coniferous forests.
During winter storms, or severe cold, the squirrel may not leave the nest for days. But,the tree squirrel does not hibernate!
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| Yum..I want to catch that squirrel! |
An adult squirrel normally lives alone. But will, in severe cold, share its nest with other squirrels to conserve body heat. Once the temperature rises, the guests will be on their way.
Squirrels chew on tree branches to sharpen and clean their teeth. That's why you may see many small branches on the ground around large trees. They will also chew on power lines for the same reason, this has caused many major power outages throughout the country.
The squirrel's erratic path while crossing a street is an attempt to confuse the oncoming vehicle... thereby causing it to change direction. This is obliviously the squirrels biggest, and often last mistake
Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! Do you have a squirrel story you would like to share?
Aww, they are so cute indeed. But we don't have squirrels so I never really know how naughty they can be!
ReplyDeleteThanks fur sharing this skwerl info. Many things we did not know. We is very kind to skwerls all the time. They provide hourse of entertainment at our house. xoxo
ReplyDeleteWe love squirrels at this house and leave peanuts in the shell out for them :-)
ReplyDeleteWe have been having some great Squirrel TV here lately, so we will be spending today appreciating that!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful day to have!! I love squirrels!! I think they're fun and cheeky and brave and bold!! And very cute!! They're sadly much maligned but they're just being squirrels! The grey ones here in the UK are not that welcome as unfortunately they're crowding out the shy-er and more reclusive and tinier native red squirrels - but I think we humans have damaged the red squirrels' natural habitat so much we certainly didn't help! And humans introduced the grey squirrel here in the first place! Oh dear! But the red squirrels are thriving in mainland Europe so that's nice! And I love going to the parks in London where the grey squirrels are fun to watch and have around! I love them - I get most upset when others think it's ok to kill them and consider them as pests. They're just trying to survive, poor things!
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
Thank´s for sharing pictures and story about Squirells !
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a Squirrel , but mom say´s that we do have Squirells here in Sweden too.
We all likes squirrels. Fenris has a squirrel that plays with him. It will sit on the ground and chatter at Fenris until it gets his attention and then when Fen runs at it, it runs up a tree. It gets very annoyed when the Mom has Fen on a leash and Fen can't play with it.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize there was a special day to celebrate squirrels! How fun!
ReplyDeleteWould you believe I've only had a squirrel in my yard once? He was cute. Hubby chased him away. :(
Wishing you a wonderful Saturday!
xo Catherine
well, happy squirrel appreciation day to you! i saw your thumbnail on the camera critters link and had to come over. i adore these silly varmints. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL....love the kitty lickin' its chops in anticipation. The squirrel images are super too.
ReplyDeleteIf I Could Talk to the Animals
Squirrels are so much fun ... even if they are pesky and the kitties like to watch! Happy Critter Day.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't know there's such a day otherwise we would have kept the post http://thechairspeaks.blogspot.com/2012/01/squirrel-came-visiting.html for Squirrel Appreciation Day! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, I especially love that last shot of your kitty licking its lips.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents had a group of black squirrels around their yard one year when I was young. We were quite fascinated by the black squirrels. Much later, my parents retired and lived in the same house. They raised an orphaned squirrel. Alas, he wasn't as afraid of dogs as he should have been. I still enjoy watching squirrels and their antics.
ReplyDeleteA special day indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe cats here love to chase the squirrels here and sometimes do catch them but not very often. I can tell you something that they do I bet you didn't know. I have a chain link fence around part of my yard and they used some kind of metal (not sure what kind) to hold the fence to the frame. Well the squirrels ate them all in half.Didn't eat them up, just chewed them in half so they don't hold the fence up any more. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots, the white one you speak of is of course an Albino and the Red Squirrel has an Albino varient as well. Red Squirrels are pretty rare now, since the Grey variety is more widespread, Black Squirrels are more common in the Scottish Highlands and I think they are a separate breed but don't have the tufts like the Red Variety so look a bit like the Grey ones but darker. Pity they are considered vermin and are often killed for that reason.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't know about a squirrel appreciation day - we hope they get extra peanuts on it for a treat.
ReplyDeleteLuv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
I had no idea today is National Squirrel Appreciation Day. I just learned something new! Love your photos!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome! I love squirrels and I had no idea to day is national squirrel appreciation day!
ReplyDeleteAwesome capture!
ReplyDeleteFur Baby for camera critters. Looking forward to your visit.
I still remember the squirrel Ping brought home headless when he was allowed outside.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your caring words on Abby.They are so appreciated at this time when the Mom is freaking out over her illness.
purrs
>^,,^<
♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥
Great shots!
ReplyDeleteThey're so cute, I haven't seen a squirrel for a long time.
Have a great weekend.
What fun, and great pics! I can't believe I missed this special day again!
ReplyDeleteWe never knew that there was a Squirrel Appreciation Day. We appreciate the squirrels...we just wish we could get close enough to them and show them! ;)
ReplyDeleteGee!!! A special day for squirrels!!
ReplyDeleteWe like our squirrels and Mom puts out seeds for them(and the birds)
They are very fun to watch!!!!!!!
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Tiger,Treasure and JJ
So beautiful pictures!I think squirrels are gorgeous critters!
ReplyDeletepurrs and love
Luna
MOL Oh the stories we could tell you about squirrels and how we finally learned to keep them out of our bird feeders...NOW if we could only find a way to keep them from eating our deck.
ReplyDeleteHugs Madi
Great squirrel shots! They do look cute!
ReplyDeleteThank for all this great squirrel information. We love watching them through the big sliding glass door! :)
ReplyDeleteWe are glad you reminded us so we could celebrate, too!
ReplyDeleteWe just looooove SQUIRL TV - and it looks like yours is especially Pawesome!
ReplyDelete