Stairway to heaven destroyed! News at 8pm cuz I'm not staying till 11...

[wraithfodder]

The 'stairway to heaven', in this case, was an overgrown bush/tree too near the house, so the very dangling conferous branches got topped and it's now below the gutter, which is much better for the house, but the poor squirrels... my god. We took away the ladder we had against the house during some work - they USED that to run back and forth. They can no longer jump from the maple to the topped tree - unless they're daring. The other larger trees around the house just got plain old removed so there's no escape route! Horrors! I let the dog out, he barked, the squirrel panicked, climbed up topped tree and ran all over the roof. Don' tknow where he got off. Anyway, they'll adapt, and this was the first day in ages that the birds actually got the bird feeder all to themselves for a few hours!

Meanwhile, I had a stale jelly donut in the fridge. I staked it out on the patio with a chopstick - next time, maybe I'll chain it to something as the amusement didn't last long enough. However, our little crack sugar squirrels do love sugar... just ripped it out and ran off with the chopsticks. Maybe Dunkin Munchins next time... Hmm, whatever gets chucked at work.

Anyway, here's the mini video.

Comments

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

That's one chubby squirrel!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Maybe she (since most seem to be female) is expecting? Hmm, not sure when the little ones are born.

[inalaska2004.livejournal.com]

have to agree w/alyssa22. that is one chubby squirrel. maybe eating for 6?
just how many baby squirrels does one mama have? and what are they called? kits? squids?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Okay, maybe it's fat. T hey all look like that around here. Must be all the bird feed they stuff themselves with, plus they chewed a whole in the garbage can lid and nosh in there too. can't win... Hmm, baby squirrels. Not sure. I should look that up.

[inalaska2004.livejournal.com]

so i looked it up and learned more about squirrels than i ever wanted to, especially about how odoriferous their pee and poop is. yech.

Q. What is a squirrel nest called?

A. The nest that you see up in the tree is called a "drey." They are typically made out of small twigs, leaves and other leaf-like materials. The interior of the nest is made soft by use of fur or other soft material and are usually located in the top third of a tree.

Squirrels will also build a "den" inside the cavity of a tree. They usually use old woodpecker holes or other cavities that occur naturally in some trees over time.

Q. What is a baby squirrel called?

A. They are called babies or infants while in the nest. Then for their first year they are referred to as juveniles. After their first year, they become adults and are simply called squirrels.


Q. Do squirrels remember where they bury their nuts?

A. No. Some of nuts are retrieved by other squirrels or they remain buried. Most of those that remain buried will sprout into saplings.
http://www.squirrel-rehab.org/faq.html

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

Oooh! You could have bubby squirrels!