Now then...
Squirrel Pics (and Conversation) Vol. 18
I've had to quit feeding the squirrels so they would stop ganging up on me and head off to some other places (they do have the woods, ya know). There are still several to observe and serious feeding will resume as winter comes on. They do get busy burying black walnuts come fall. I'll have lots of little walnut trees sprouting in my pots and elsewhere. :/
Too bad about the wee babies, nice that there are wild animal rescues out there to help in these situations.
There are acorns starting to fall now from my oaks...I like the sound of them hitting my porch, means fall is on the way. :-)
I am ready for fall ... my favorite time of the year.
Amanda, I also do my best to "save" spiders and many other insects, though I'm not much into picking them up with my hands. I generally collect them in a container then release them outside.
No need to apologize for doing what comes naturally...sharing wildlife stories whether good or bad...with other wildlife lovers.
Cville_Gardener, I envy you with all the walnuts you have that the squirrels can eat. You can always mow down any new Black Walnuts that sprout just like we do with our neighbors Maple pods (they get everywhere and even clog up our gutters!). Sometimes the squirrels eat them, but I wish they'd eat a lot more of them.
Sunkissed, you have no idea how much I long for Autumn. Both my husband and I love Autumn so much he always takes a vacation then. It's our absolutely favorite season. Usually it's way too short.
Found this on Pinterest and had to share. :)
Cute.
Well, in today's news here -- there is an over-abundance of squirrels statewide and the state is encouraging squirrel hunting.
Cute pic Amanda! Morning exercise...or conducting an orchestra?
CG, that's just awful!! And I will never understand the mentality of hunters if I live to be 150.
You know I'm not a hunter and can't kill a bug (except mosquitoes fleas ticks, well parasites).
But getting my masters in natural resource management and better understanding the origins of the conservation movement have taught me (arguably) that hunting (or population control) is an integral part of conservation.
Unfortunately there is no corollary to deal with human overpopulation but there is a strong ethic among some hunters/conservationists that argue that as natural predators disappeared (again, our bad) overpopulation has occurred among other species that threaten the equilibrium of entire ecosystems.
I'm not an advocate, but I understand.
People regularly hunted squirrels here to put food on the table but aren't doing so nearly as much these days. You can hunt them with a pellet gun so don't even need a permit to carry a weapon but do need a permit to hunt.
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This message was edited Aug 30, 2013 10:36 AM
That is a cute pic Amanda, think I've seen it before. Probably on Pinterest since I frequent that site too.
Hopefully no one is offended. :)
Are we including ground squirrels here? A thirteen lined ground squirrel (in the public domain).
Though I've never done this before, I deleted my previous post. My love of wildlife can stir up some strong emotions in me. So you guys know, I didn't say anything bad or nasty. Just, sometimes it's better to keep one's opinions to oneself. After considering that fact, I decided to delete my post. I hope anyone that had already read it was not offended. If so, I apologize.
Absolutely, Cville...all Squirrels, Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks...they're are all welcome here (even the occasional bunny, dog, ground hog...and whatever). What an adorable pic!
This message was edited Aug 30, 2013 2:00 PM
Sorry Nutty. I'm very conflicted myself for instance over adding meat back into my diet for health reasons after not eating meat for ethical/moral reasons for so long.
But this is a thread for cute squirrel pictures! So I will go out and find some more. :)
The ground squirrel is really cool looking, I like the stripes.
Peanut and the our new pooch Bear, have met. Guess squirrels are so used to dogs around here because she didn't seem to care about the dog when she came over for her snacks.
I keep Bear on a leash outside since she is so young and loves to eat plants, I'm sure I have some not good to eat plants in the garden. And I wanted to be sure she didn't take off after our little squirrel, or trample my plants.
She watched my husband feeding Peanut and didn't even try to get up and take chase. But then she is in a house with 4 cats and has learned they are not chew toys. The word, "leave it", it being said often. :-)
Peanut eating her nuts, and Bear in my face.
Thanks, Amanda and don't worry about it. Hey, it's September!
Cute pics, sunkissed. Obviously Bear is still new and Peanut feels like he/she still "rules the roost". It'll be interesting to see if things change.
Not a picture of a squirrel, but the sunflowers the squirrels have been planting are blooming all over our yard. Usually they get pulled out or mowed. This year, other than the ones on the lawn, we've let most of them grow and they're very attractive. It's a win, win... even though the flowers are relatively small, the wildlife still gets to enjoy the seeds.
That's just like the sunflower I had grow up a couple months ago in a flower pot close to the bird feeder...but I only had the one. Guess our sandy soil doesn't promote their growth. I love sunflowers.
Yes, that Bear is precious. And Peanut is very photogenic. :)
OK, here's our "resident" groundhog, aka The General. S/he's the primary reason I don't have any sunflowers in my backyard. They don't make it past the second set of leaves usually. But that's okay.
Looks like a chubby groundhog, I like the name.
I agree, "The General" looks well-fed.
"Yummy...I love dried fruit!"
I've bought a bag of dried corn and am starting to put out a little for the critters. I'll get some peanuts for the squirrels. They get so busy this time of year. :) I'm just going with a little at a time since the raccoon tends to want to hog it all.
Great squirrel pics, nuts.
The acorns are coming in, they're small but the squirrels are knocking them out of the tree. They knock them out and then come down to the ground to eat them. Problem is my driveway is under parts of the trees and the cars crush them, very hard to sweep the mess up.
I bought more Raw peanuts today and the clerk ringing them up asked me if I liked eating raw nuts...I just laughed and said no I don't. I like mine roasted and salted. Then I told her they were for the squirrels since she looked a bit confused.
Cute squirrel munching there, Nuts.
Did on of you post this or did I pull it off the web to share with you? :)
Thanks Cville!! Those birds and critters do have us all well-trained...making sure they have all their favorite foods.
Thanks sunkissed!! I wish we had acorns growing. It would certainly save some of the money we spend on all that food. You should tell the clerk in the store that you're on a special diet and all you eat is raw peanuts and water!
Amanda, that picture is unbelievably adorable and sooo funny!!
I try to make sure that all the clerks at the grocery store know that i have a giant iguana that eats all the fresh produce I buy. Nobody could eat that much mustard greens and collards!!! :p
Cute photo, Amanda.
I love mustard greens and collards. Jusy sayin'.
Also meant to add that I squirrel away a lot of greens of all kinds. Just a little squirrel humor- yuk, yuk.
Love that photo....just adorable.
Well now see, here's a question for a different thread, but have any one of you ever raised a tomato hornworm? Actually not quite sure if this one isn't a tobacco hornworm. As for me growing vegetables or anything else green, you can see it's all about the wildlife.
We have lots of Five-spotted Hawkmoths and therefore their hornworm caterpillars. I've had plenty of tomato hornworms but not on purpose. They are often confused with Tobacco hornworms.
I found this tomato hornworm on one of my tomato plants. It has been parasitized by a Brachonid wasp.
Yeah, we found one like that last year on the datura. I thought it was a rescue but I learned that the white things are not eggs but the newly emerged larvae.
We have a sphinx that visits at night and I am hoping that I captured this one before any harm was done to it. It seems to be eating and growing so I think I'm in luck. Hafta raise something in my monarch enclosures...
One more and then back to our regularly scheduled squirrels. :-D))) Sorry, nuts.
Sorry??? For what??
Going off-topic on a thread that isn't mine. :)
Whew! You had me worried. I thought you did something really bad :o)
First of all...it IS your thread. It belongs to all of us...everyone on DG. All I did was start a new page of a thread that's been on-going for a very long time. Anyone can start a new page when the old one gets full.
Secondly...we all go off-topic now and then on all the threads and eventually get back to the topic of the thread. Some people may get crazy about it...I'm not one of them. ^_^
This message was edited Sep 9, 2013 2:28 PM
ROTFL. Yes, some do get a bit crazy. You have the right attitude. Squirrel lovers of the world unite. :-D
We are a naturally tolerant bunch.
:)
O tolerant ones, I need comfort again. :/
yesterday I scared off hawk patrolling my garden apparently before s/he could finish business. Just found a bunch of babies huddled around their departed parent. Not one we welcome openly to the feeders, but it was just about the saddest thing I have ever seen.
I took them a plate with chopped apple and kibble and crushed crackers and seed and a shallow plate with water. I repositioned an old wooden dog house very close as I'd read if they don't have a home they are goners. Brought that thing home from a neighbor's house for the rabbits at the back of the yard, but these guys needed the shelter.
Oh I'm so focking crazy. ... :(