Bernard Goetz on Aftermath with William Shatner

Just got word that the new show "Aftermath with William Shatner" is premiering on August 2nd, 2010 on the A&E Bio channel ... and Bernie Goetz will be the first episode! Here's the schedule of dates and times when the show can be viewed on TV:

http://www.biography.com/search/schedule.do?keywords=Aftermath
Looks like the video may be available on the web, meanwhile there's a preview available: http://www.biography.com/video.do?name=aftermath

Bernie's Biography: http://www.biography.com/articles/Bernhard-Goetz-578520

Yes, it's our squirrel pal, Bernie Goetz! And he may be talking about  squirrels (we can hope), among other things.  So be sure to tune in!!!

Subway Gunman, veggie Bernie Goetz plays with his squirrel

The Tale of Rama Rota

Rama Rota is a Variegated Squirrel who lives in a Castle in Costa Rica with his wonderful Mom and Dad, who found him when he fell out of a tree. Rama Rota means "broken branch". Variegated means being of various colors. They only grow 'em like this in Costa Rica! You can follow the enchanting tale of Rama Rota (as well as the growth of his enchanting tail)

right here:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20907

They're Just Like Us

A baby rat likes sleeping with his Stuffie...

Dog Days of Summer

The dog days have arrived, and we're in the middle of a long, hot summer. The squirrels don't come out much when it gets to be 90 degrees. We've been having days in the high 90's all week, and there's no let-up in sight. I walk around passing out frozen grapes and cherries for the takers, but many squirrels are just too hot to come out (no doubt preferring to stay inside their air conditioned holes).  We did have one cooler day that dipped down into the 70's and all the squirrels were upon me with a vengeance. They were famished after days and days of no eating!!  Several of the big grays actually jumped on me when I was sitting on the bench by the fountain (the blacks and brownies are way too shy to ever do that). Passersby were watching and laughing, and I called out to them, "I feel like Alfred Hitchcock's The Squirrels!"

First Day of Summer

In the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of the summer season is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest north (on June 20th or 21st). This day is known as the Summer Solstice.

I had fun yesterday. First I saw Foxy -- the REAL Foxy. She grew larger, but she still has her wonderful butterscotch tail. We hadn't seen each other in a while, so we had fun together. Then I ran into Miss Pretty, who was having a grand time running with a pack through the early twilight. I tossed them all some cherries.

Then I saw that all the little black babies in the Baby Tree by the Guard's Gate have gotten much bigger and much bolder. They were actually descending from their secure kingdom of branches to have a look around at the rest of the world.

Then I went over to look for Spunky and there I found Bernie, sitting by the flagpole! All the squirrels had been fed and were now cavorting in the smaller trees over by the side of the building. They were in peaceful and playful moods. Spunky was there stretched out on a limb, and would not come down to me. That was a first -- she must have been VERY well fed! The others were more fun, especially the little ones.

Bernie discovered something strange. Someone had taken a bunch of branches and pushed them into a hole in one of the trees, and at the end of each branch was a gob of black mud, as if someone had tried to plant the branches in the hole! Very strange indeed. Nothing a squirrel could have done.

Then we walked all around the park, which was enchanting as the night descended and the fireflies began blinking at us everywhere. We discussed past squirrel adventures and the state of the world, and it was altogether a good time to be in the park, enjoying summer.

June is Busting Out All Over!

It's the beautiful month of June and the wild strawberries are growing all over Tubby's field! I love it over there because they rarely bother to mow, and the grass and clover grow high. And right now it's loaded with those tiny red morsels everywhere you step!

For a long time we did not see Tubby or any of the three brown juveniles that lived in the meadow. We wondered if something bad had happened to them. Or had there been a sudden exodus to Stuytown? But what squirrels in their right minds would leave the little bit of heaven that is Tubby's field for parts unknown? Could they have succumbed to (shiver) rat poison? Would anyone really wish ill to PCV's most beautiful squirrels? It seemed highly unlikely. It was just going to be another one of those squirrel mysteries. Bernie said that sometimes squirrels will disappear in summertime-- in sort of a hibernation in reverse!

So I was greatly relieved to spot a brownie over there the other day, and a fat little female to boot, which means more brown babies in the future. She could be the new Tubby, keeping the brown line alive!

Then yesterday I had a wonderful surprise -- the heat wave had finally dissipated and had been replaced by classic June days that have been cool and breezy, with big billowy clouds in crystalline blue skies. And guess what--our Ms. Tubby made her grand RE-appearance, along with TWO of her brown juvies! I also noticed that the little brown female I'd seen the other day was now in heat and being dogged by a gray male who was sniffing her relentlessly. Whatcha gonna do? I was just glad to see them all!

I also saw Foxy yesterday, whom I haven't seen in a while, since I've been spending most of my time feeding Spunky or Miss Pretty. Foxy is getting so big! And darker. Maybe it was Foxy's double.

How Spunky Got Her Groove Back

Spunky looks soooo much better now! She has fixed up a little bower of leaves on the branch just outside the hole where (I assume) her babies are, so she can stay comfortable and close.

She looked so raggedy the first week after she had her babies! Something was wrong with her rear left leg, so she walked lop sided and had trouble going up and down the tree. Now her fur is shining and her limp is not as pronounced. I have been faithfully feeding her each day, and she is much improved. All I have to do is go by her tree and call "Spunky!" and down she comes like a puppy!

What I love about Spunky is that the first thing she always does is look up at me with the most earnest expression on her face. Like she's asking: what's our relationship all about?

Once that's out of the way then it's back to business-- eating. But that first look is always her sweet greeting!

I also feed three little ones - one black and two gray - who have attached themselves to Spunky because I guess they realize that she's a meal ticket. Spunky is not their mama, but they somehow like staying near her. And they can see how friendly Spunky and I are. At first they were too shy and ran away when I threw then a nut, but now they are getting braver.

Miss Pretty, who lives over on the other side of the park, has also had her babies, and is none the worse for the wear. She looks healthy and is full of energy. She's a spoiled little squirrel who loves spending time with me even after she's eaten her fill. She seems to love interaction. She has unusual fur that is gray but spotted with a strawberry color, that matches her "strawberry blond" tail. And she has such a sweet face. Reminds me a lot of a sweet little squirrel that I once knew named Strawberry, who just disappeared one day.

Heat Wave

91 degrees at 6pm! Oh yes, summer has arrived-- and just in time for Memorial Day Weekend, official start of the season. I went to the park bearing "frozen" cherries and grapes and they were a fairly big hit.  There were not a lot of squirrels to be seen around PCV.  My squirrels came out -- and came over to greet me. They were not that hungry for nuts and instead chose to lounge languidly on the branches of the small squirrel trees over by the rose bushes. They were all relaxed, and seemed to be enjoying my company, because they stuck around, pancaking out, and not looking for food. Or maybe it was just that their holes were too hot for comfort :)

Only one squirrel - a mommy squirrel of all things  - was in full gear. She was in a MOOD. She kept chasing the others and kept begging for more nuts, which she would then go off and bury. She was not particularly hungry, but was spoiling for some action!

I retrieved the water "cup" from under the hedges and filled it with water, thinking the poor darlings must be dehydrated. But except for one brave sq, I could not get them to drink from it.  A few would slink stealthily over to it, then back away, sensing a trap. Silly little things! I poured water on a couple of them but they did not seem to like that and tried to wipe it off.

There was a tiny black baby there, eating roses off the rose bushes. It was adorable to see his mouth full of rose petals. I tried throwing him a cherry and hit him by mistake (** oops, cherry bomb **) and he jumped sky high!

Speaking of mommy squirrels, I then went over to the east side and looked for Spunky to give her a frozen cherry. She was high in a tree and seemed hesitant about coming down, whereas she usually bounds right over to me in her spunky manner (hence her name). When she finally started  down, she was moving awkwardly, almost like she had arthritis.

 I thought there might be something wrong with her. And then when she finally got down, I realized that SPUNKY HAD HER BABIES!!! IN THIS HEAT NO LESS!!!!  She was skinny again, and you could see now that she is really quite small,  almost still a baby herself.  Spunky ate quite a bit. She was very calm. I'm the one that was excited -- can't wait to see her first batch of babies! I think she'll be a great mommy.

Precious

Bernie's Baby Girl

click on a picture to enlarge it

Amazing Grace

Nuts! Amateur photographer captures the moment a hawk let its furry prey get away

Grok these amazing pictures of hawk and squirrel. For the full story go here (it does have a happy ending):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1275758/Nuts-Amateur-photographer-captures-moment-hawk-let-furry-prey-away.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

click pic to enlarge

Foxy's First "Words"!

It was so exciting. I've never heard Foxy make any sound before. I went over to the park late today. I had not been there for several days, due to a heavy schedule. Foxy's area was pretty empty. I fed the couple of grays that showed up, then walked around the empty space calling for Foxy. I crossed the sidewalk and went over to look in the cherry trees, as that was the last place I'd seen her.

Suddenly I heard a very loud sound coming from the winter tree (the tall tree by the bushes that a lot of them seemed to be living in all winter). I looked up to see who was producing the cacophany and it was none other than Foxy! She was not in distress, but crowing joyfully! She was making that classic squirrel sound - that sort of chuck chuck sound that every squirrel NEEDS to be able to make. I was so proud of her! She not only came when called, but she actually spoke! I like to think it was because she was glad to see me...

Sick Squirrel Caught

With the help of a tenant, Bernie managed to find and trap the squirrel with the goppy stuff covering his face, ear and eye (see more pictures in the Sick Squirrel post below). A lot of it dropped off with the peroxide bath he was given, and it looks like he should be ready to be released in a couple of weeks. We don't know what it is, but we don't think it's mange. Maybe a fungus?

Salad Days

As I was cutting across the park on my way to the grocery store, I saw Foxy darting into one of the big flowering cherry trees. I went over and found Foxy already up in the branches with her mouth full of pink petals! Then I noticed that the tree was swarming with squirrels. Everyone and their mother was there! Each looking for a bite to eat. The squirrels eat "salad" on days when they don't get "steak"!

I Kissed a Squirrel!

Well not really, but almost -- I could have, I was that close.  Bernie brought his new little Babygirl over to PCV in a shoulder bag. I actually got to hold her! And it would not have been hard to kiss that tiny pink V each time she yawned. This was the first time I've held a squirrel, so it was a real thrill. She is so precious. She only opened her eyes a few days ago. She is very curious and alert, but very calm and not afraid at all. Her gray and white coloring is beautiful, and she has a perfect little tail with a white stripe running through it. Sort of looks like a chipmunk tail. But she is all squirrel! She gets fed very well - all sorts of fruits and veggies and eggs are in her liquid diet. And because of that her fur is soft and shiny. I'm in love! And I'm going to need another Babygirl fix real soon.

Bernie put her down on the grass for a few minutes and she seemed to like that. Then he put her back into the shoulder bag where she was ensconced in tissues. He then bent down and started feeding all the squirrels that were circling around. He didn't realize that Babygirl had crawled out of her bag and along his arm to have a looksee, and there she was sitting on his wrist watch, watching all the commotion as the big squirrels darted to and fro for nuts. It was quite an outing for her! I would have pictures but my camera ran out of gas. Next time...

April Flowers

It's good to be back to normal April temps now, in the 60's and 70's. Much better in my opinion, my favorite weather, and the favorite weather of the squirrels. They don't like it when it gets too hot. And they definitely don't enjoy the cold!

We've been treated to the flowering cherry and apple trees etc. for a couple of weeks now, but today was a big breakthrough day when the pale green leaves started appearing on all the trees, turning Peter Cooper Village into a veritable paradise in the heart of New York City.

The playing field of Foxy and his friends has turned into plush green grass, strewn with violets. Lovely!

Unfortunately I saw another sick squirrel today, with those horrid red spots all over his back. Or could it have been the little one that disappeared after the big snowstorm? I was standing there for over half an hour feeding him and Foxy, both of whom kept eating nut after nut, like the nuts were keeping them warm. Foxy was sneezing and trembling from the cold, but couldn't seem to get enough to eat. All the larger squirrels had retired to their (relatively) warm holes and only the two little ones were out there with me. And a whole bunch of PCV kids, who were sledding and making snow balls. Suddenly giant snowflakes started falling and it was so beautiful!

I never saw that little gray squirrel again after that, and assumed he had died. But was that him back today? Either that or a squirrel that looked just like him...spots and all. He was acting very friendly like he knew me, and I fed him coconut and walnuts and grapes, as well as peanuts.

Squirrels are magic like that. They disappear, then they reappear. Sometimes a squirrel will seem to dissolve into a tree, as if the bark liquifies, allowing it to pass through to a secret realm where we cannot go.

Sick Squirrel

The weather has been unseasonably warm this week, and dry. When walking around I saw several squirrels lounging around. I had to go up to them to see if they were ill. One woman was on her cellphone while a squirrel lounged next to her on a bench. She was laughing as she told someone that she had this squirrel that was chillin' beside her!

Chillin'

The squirrels are no longer suffering from the cold weather, and they're surrounded by budding trees, shrubs and flowers, but now they get hot and thirsty, and have no readily available water supply.

The Baby Tree
I saw the babies today - Oatmeal and Duckling! They did not eat that much, and quickly disappeared, but at least I know they are still around. Their "spots" do not seem to be worse, but these cysts or boils are insidious things that are often internal, and full of pus and smelly, as we know from the ones we caught. They don't seem as happy and playful as they should be at their age. Mr. Operator's lesion has completely healed up. I've been feeding him lots of fresh coconut.

Sick Squirrel
Now here's a little fellow with a new problem. Here he is eating with Foxy looking on. I gave him fresh coconut, grapes and various nuts today. 

You can click on the picture, then click it a second time to enlarge it.  His left eye and ear are completely occluded. I'd like to find out what this is, and any comments would be appreciated. Here are more pictures:

I tought I taw a puddy tat

Springtime is lovely, walking around Peter Cooper Village, breathing in the perfume of all the flowering trees and bushes. Only one problem -- the nice weather brings all the dogs out. Every time you turn around, you see another dog being walked. It's stressful on the squirrels!

I was out there today when suddenly the squirrels were all atwitter over on the north side of the east park. I walked over to find out what was causing such a racket. One squirrel led the pack, making a funny noise that was a cross between a wail and the "chuck chuck" squirrel sound, its tail twirling like a pinwheel as it advanced down its tree. Once the alert had been sounded other squirrels chimed in, and it became a cacophony of frightened squirrel sounds.

I looked around for a hawk. The squirrels usually will sense one before I see it. But no... no sign of a big bird anywhere. Finally I saw the object of their attention -- and it was quite far away, by the back wall of building 6. I was surprised they had even seen it, as squirrels do not have very good eyesight. It was a very large tabby -- probably the largest cat I'd ever seen! And it was walking without a leash, its mistress nearby. It turned out to be 13 year old Riley, out enjoying the beautiful weather. Riley was curious about his surroundings, but did not pay much attention to the squirrels, who were not paying Riley the same respect. Eventually he walk right over towards the tree where the leader of the band was poised, causing the squirrel to go totally bananas. At that point I thought there might actually be a confrontation, as there sometimes will be with a hawk, but Riley finally turned and left, after which it took me a long time to calm down the little fellow, who could not stop making his noises. It seemed to be a reflex action, sort of like having the hiccups. I kept feeding him, but he continued to cry as he ate, until finally on the pecan that he stopped crying. He'd probably never had a pecan before, and it took his entire concentration.

I thought it was odd that the squirrels gave such a reception to a cat, because when a dog appears they simply run up the nearest tree. They reserve their caterwauling for the big birds, who they know as predators. So -- I wondered how they were able to distinguish Riley from a dog, especially from such a distance, and why they deemed Riley to be a predator. Another squirrel mystery. They obviously have some sort of 6th sense.

Easter "Bunny"

Happy Easter!

Good Friday Memorium

This post is in memory of the little squirrels that didn't make it through the winter. The little angels that were only on this earth a few short months, and that bore the brunt of winter without ever knowing the joys of spring. They had the mystery disease, whatever it is, and the storms were the tipping factor that caused the die-offs.

The little creatures just could not make it through the rough weather with their already weakened immune systems. It saddens me. We did our best and most squirrels came through it, but often the little ones died.

Then when we thought we were out of the woods, we were hit this week with cold weather and terrible rainstorms that lasted days and caused flooding on Long Island that is just now starting to recede. We worry about the newborns who have not yet made their appearance in the world. Between this strange illness that's very communicable and the recent rainstorms, will there be any babies this spring? We just don't know.

We'd been been worrying that we'd lost our last batch of babies because we hadn't seen them since last Monday while feeding them during a lull in the rains. These are the sweet little gray babies with that feathery fur that makes them look more like ducklings than squirrels. They have pink spots under their fur, but they had so far survived. Well I saw them today, out sunning themselves on The Baby Tree! It was a true spring day, absolutely gorgeous, and they were finally out enjoying the weather. I wish them a Happy Spring... they deserve it.

Foxy Redux

Foxy is looking really fine these days. Her lesion is completely healed and she has a beautiful, soft and shiny coat. She is a very happy squirrel.

Here she is next to a pigeon ... you can see how small she is!

Squirrel Malady

Some of the little ones are showing signs of the "red spots" infection. This is what it looks like:

And here's a closeup:

And here is Red Fox's lesion back on February 12, which has totally healed now.
We still don't know if it's bacterial, viral, fungal or parasites. I'd like to catch one and bring it to the vet to see if we can get a diagnosis, but they get skittish when they have this disease which makes them more paranoid than usual and harder to catch.

We lost several of the babies this winter over in the west side of the park, in the area near the fountain. The snow storms hit them particularly hard as they were already weakened by the disease, and they just couldn't survive.

Unfortunately, the infestation has now spread to the east side of the park. A couple of the darling gray babies over there have become infected. Here's one:


And I recently discovered that Mr. Operator -- a fully grown healthy adult -- has the disease. He had a big red boil on his back that looked painful. It's starting to look a little better now, as he has a fully developed immune system which I guess is helping him to fight it off. Click for a slightly larger view:


The other day I gave him some avocado with red marine algae sprinkled on top. He ate some of it, but maybe not enough. If this is squirrel pox then it's a virus that might be treatable with the drug zovirax (acyclovir), which is used to treat viruses in the herpes family. Red marine algae is an inexpensive alternative to the drug, and is possibly even more effective. But it does have the taste of seaweed, which may be a turn-off for squirrels. So I try to bury the taste in avocado or peanut butter.

Today I gave him and the babies fresh coconut, which is supposed to be a great antiviral. And they liked it. Luckily the Korean Deli sells it, already cut up and ready to serve. It's a treat for the squirrels, sort of like ice cream. When they get a piece they take off for places unknown to enjoy it -- that's how you know it's a special treat.

Rain Rain Go Away

Rain rain go away and don't come back another day! Just when things were getting better for the squirrels, this massive rain storm arrived. It's been raining for 2 days solid so far. I went out during a lull and found a whole parcel of hungry critters. The sad thing was, they all looked like drowned rats. That tells me that a lot of them don't have holes to hide in from the weather.

On the outside looking in

They don't have lovely, warm, toasty homes to go into like dogs and cats do. It's not fair being a squirrel.

Surmounting All Odds

Where tails come in useful.

Spring Fever

Spring is arriving at last! I'm loving these cold days as we ease into it, being startled by a sudden glimpse of forsythia or a crocus pushing its way up. And the squirrels are loving it too. Chewing on tree bark and buds on the ends of branches is the latest fad, and they are not as hungry for the store nuts. The beautiful cherry trees are already in bloom at Peter Cooper Village. Click for a larger view:

BUDS!

Click to enlarge any picture

While walking through the melting snowdrifts of our recent snowstorm (20.9 inches) I found, to my surprise, BUDS poking through!

Nipping in the Buds

The break in the weather has made the squirrels playful and joyful, and much less dependent on me. Relief! I watched three young squirrels, high above in their tree, availing themselves of the nutritious nectar of tree sap that exuded from the bark of the tender branches.
They seemed eager for an alternative to their steady winter diet of peanuts! Of course they also got other wonderful nuts, avocados, and fruits like grapes and cherries, and the occasional cookie, but this was Mother Nature calling! In fact they have not been crowding around me at all right now. There's no doubt about it though, we helped many young squirrels get through a harsh, cold winter. We (Bernie and his Angels) did a good job this year, with not too many casualties.

This man who lives in the building by "the bushes" (a popular squirrel hideout) was going in the other day and yelled out to me "Please don't feed the squirrels." He came back out a while later and saw that I was still there, having ignored him. He then became rather persistent, attempting to harass me by stopping to talk to people then turning around to stare at me and give me dirty looks. I felt like saying to him: I busted my butt all winter trying to keep these squirrels alive and healthy, and where were you? So just butt out!

But we were not 100% successful. Some of the young ones contracted a horrid disease that ended up taking their lives. I posted below about Red Fox's lesion-- at first we'd thought it was the mark of a hawk bite-- a huge, ugly wound on his rear hindquarter that seemed to be arrive overnight. But then more lesions began to appear around his body -- much smaller than the original one -- and I began to suspect something else was going on. The small lesions never gained a foothold, and the large one healed, so Foxy is doing fine today.

After doing some research I narrowed it down to being either a bot fly infestation (unlikely), or squirrel fibromatosis (also known as squirrel fibroma or squirrel pox). My guess was squirrel pox, although it could also be a pasteur infection, or both. Pasteur is bacterial and can be cured with antibiotics, while squirrel pox is caused by a virus, and has no cure other than the squirrel's own immune system. I did find some talk of successful use of acyclovir serum. Acyclovir is used to treat herpes viruses, and is now generic, and much cheaper than it was.

Unfortunately we were unable to save the two baby gray squirrels who contracted the disease. They were such pretty little things, with fur that was still soft. Here's one of them.

The disease came on very quickly, with the lesions appearing right after the first big snowstorm. Bernie took her home and gave her a bath and discovered cysts full of pus all over the underside of the poor little creature, who only survived for a few days after that. At least she was comfortable and well cared-for, as the other squirrels were bullying her when she tried to eat, causing her to whimper, which broke my heart. No doubt they would not let her in the nest at night either.

I was feeding the other gray baby on the day of the second big snowstorm and he just stood there in the snow and ate and ate and ate - at least 12 nuts in a row -- and I never saw him after that. He must have died in the blizzard.
Red Fox was there too, standing in the snow, sneezing away (when Foxy sneezed his entire body rose up in the air) and eating like there was no tomorrow. Luckily he survived, and although he is thin and frail, seems to have good energy. Taz did not ever get sick. Here they are feeding together peacefully (Taz gets along with Foxy).


I had such a shock the other day when I went over to feed Taz and discovered a tell-tale angry pink boil on his hindquarter. I did a double-take -- this had literally developed overnight because Taz had been fine the day before! Then a little while later Taz came running over looking fine. So this was his twin, his doppelgänger! A squirrel I had not seen all winter (unfortunately) and have not seen again.

Squirrels are a magical mystery and never cease to surprise. Today again I thought I was feeding Taz, and was amazed that he came running right over and came up close to my foot, having lost all his shyness. Then I realized that it didn't quite have the same face as Taz (which is unique and so adorable). This one had a more pointy face and it also had the most beautiful, perfect glossy coat of fur I've ever seen on a squirrel. Now where did this little one come from? Where had he been all winter long? And how could he be so healthy and so fearless and friendly towards me? Another mystery!