Heartbroken

Right now it's 17 degrees, going down to a low of 12 later tonight. Today was the coldest so far -- 23 degrees. Some squirrels did not even come out, and those that did show up did not stick around for long.

Merry Christmas, squirrel fans!

Ready For Santa

Getting my nest ready for Santa's visit

Squirrel decorates nest with a Christmas stocking.

http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Squirrel-decorates-Lexington-tree-with-a-stocking-461736103.html

National Maple Syrup Day

Happy #NationalMapleSyrupDay !!

photo by @SquirrelBeebz

National Cookie Day

Yes, I know it's #NationalCookieDay, but I think I've had a little too much cream filling.



Beeb the Squirrel

The Oranges are Back!

This is the tree we call the orange tree. Years ago it was the home of a family of "orange" squirrels. These squirrels were not truly orange: they were gray or "brindle" squirrels with bright orange tails. We had babies that froze to death during a couple of cold winters, and after that the oranges disappeared. Now we're happy to see these pretty squirrels back in the orange tree again!

Thanksgiving

For All Good Things We Give Thanks




Bright-eyed and Bushy-tailed

Remains of the Day

When I was here the other day Momma Gray Squirrel started making a strange growling sound, before making a dash for the tree. When a few other squirrels picked up on the theme I looked up and saw a huge red-tailed hawk sitting patiently in a nearby tree. I was sorry to see it so close to the baby tree. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me so I don't have a picture of the hawk, but when I went back there today, I found the remains of an adult squirrel under the orange tree.

Sadly, it was one of the black ones, which are a bit rare here. I hope it wasn't the babies' mother. You don't know which squirrels are the mothers, as they never have anything to do with the babies when outside of the nest.

On the brighter side, the babies have become much more approachable.
There are three browns and one gray, and all seem to be from the same litter. Three of them were down when I arrived:

I managed to get some great pictures of the cuties (click to enlarge):

Some children came by and were ecstatic watching the squirrels. Their father, who was on his cell phone, didn't seem to be paying much attention, but as soon as their mother arrived, she started telling the children to stay away from the squirrels as if they were some deadly enemy. Then she started lecturing me about feeding them. I wasn't supposed to be doing that. 

Her children gathered around and formed a chorus: "Don't feed the squirrels!"

I explained: "I only feed them because they're hungry and need to be fed."

She replied haughtily: "Oh, they are well-fed, I assure you of that!"

"Really?"  I asked, "Fed by whom?"

That seemed to stump her. End of conversation.  :)

Squirrel Day Afternoon

I enjoyed spending time with my two favorite mother squirrels who were just taking it easy on a beautiful autumn afternoon:

Ladies in Waiting

I've been feeding two squirrels recently who look like they're about to give birth... one is gray, one is black. They're always hungry!

Please Don't Feed The Squirrels!

So how will the squirrels eat? Do these people think that the squirrels get their food from the forest?

Squirrels, unless under some sort of duress, are normally friendly and rather shy. Not only that, they're extremely polite when they're being fed! I'm often charmed by that observation when I'm feeding them.

 

I've been remiss recently due to other concerns and was looking forward to getting back to a regular feeding cycle with them in the fall, as the cooler weather starts up and appetites increase. Plus, the last few times I was at PCV, it was disturbing to see so many squirrels hanging around garbage cans. That told me that they're not getting enough to eat. And now they're going to get even less? I doubt they'll be able to survive. There won't be any more charming "cohabitation" at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

 

Maybe what they need is a more formal program to feed the squirrels, or maybe they could  just enforce feeding restrictions around the playgrounds. But as their letter states, the well-being of humans is above all of the utmost importance, and wild animals will always play a poor second to that.

Pinky: Son of Spunky

Well, actually more like great-grandson or great-great grandson, I guess.
This little squirrel had so much spunk that he reminded me of my dear old friend Spunky, who was featured a lot on this blog. He had the same cute face and spunky personality. It was good to think that Spunky's genes had survived!

Pinky managed to survive the entire winter not only with no winter coat, but with no coat at all, due to a bad case of what looked like mange. But that didn't phase him: he would always run circles around the other larger squirrels, and managed to evade their bullying. We had a lot of fun playing "peanuts" with him: we'd throw a peanut, he'd grab it, go bury it, then come back for another. This went on forever. 

I was really looking forward to this little guy getting better and growing some fur and bonding with me the way Spunky used to do. But it was not to be. Right after I took these pictures there was a big Nor'easter, and I never saw Pinky again.