Sunday, January 21, 2018

Love me some SQUIRRELS!!

I LOVE CATS.  That being said there are a few other animals that I am somewhat obsessed with, and Squirrels would be on that list! In honor of today being Squirrel Appreciation Day I just had to show them a little love!! (No worries, there are cat photos here too!)
Saved to my Pinterest Board
Original from CafePress.com


I could watch squirrels for hours, scurrying here and there, striking hilarious poses, committing acts of thievery.  In my eyes squirrels are ingenious, always busy, always planning, but I often wonder, do they truly REMEMBER where they put their nuts when they bury them in the ground?

Pinned to my Pinterest Board
Original Pin came from cracked.com
As a child, I used to look at trees with "tree holes" and imagine that when the squirrels would go inside they would sit on the teeniest wooden chairs and eat their meals out of hollowed out acorns. Ok, I will confess, I STILL believe that!

Pinned to my Pinterest Board
Original Pin Came From 500px.com


My Angel Bobo had the luxury of living in a first floor apartment  that was situated next to the woods. His window had a window seat as well. Bobo used to spend HOURS in that window chittering at birds and crouching down low to "play attack" the squirrels. The squirrels seemed to relish  cavorting and teasing him knowing they were kept safe by a pane of glass. The photo below (and I apologize for the quality, but I had to take a photo of a photo hanging on the wall in order to share this with you), was taken at my first apartment in Michigan, when Bobo and I moved here together in 2001. That apartment was on the second floor but had the type of balcony where it was still convenient for Bobo to watch his beloved squirrels).




 Poor Cody doesn't have that luxury because while I am still in a second floor unit, I am in a different complex, and  this unit  doesn't lend itself well to "squirrel viewing." Instead, I have chosen to let a couple of MY squirrels infringe on Cody's space. Poor Cody, he isn't loving the intrusion at all.



At one point I was actively feeding the squirrels and got in trouble because what started as two quickly grew to over 10 eating at one time. A number of them took up residence in the "attic" or storage area above some units. They were freaking out a neighbor across the hall because they were running around late at night. Needless to say I was ordered to stop feeding the squirrels.

Oh to live in a cabin in the woods where I can feed them to my heart's content and sit, like a cat and watch them for hours!

Now, my squirrels can just hang out in Cody's cat tree when he isn't around.





I am pretty pleased with how this turned out. I am a fan of using gel pens much more than I enjoy using colored pencils, so that is what I used to color the squirrel. The only editing I used was a brightener to make it show up better on the blog. 

And now, I would like to leave you with a little "Squirrely Advice"

Pinned from my Pinterest Board
Original Pin found here

24 comments:

  1. I got a kick out of this, Caren, because we have so many squirrels here. They're cute, but they can be pests too. "Tree rats", some call them. I always talk to them, but I do wish they'd stay out of the little back space. I suppose it gives Nicki and Derry something to watch, though! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we do too! I have to tell you though, I have seen the term "tree rats" and I just don't like it. I think squirrels are so smart (even if they can be annoying). I just love them!

      Delete
  2. We love squirrels too! We have several large trees in the yard, with many squirrel families. We have grey, black, and brown-furred ones. Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have a number of different kinds too! Probably because you and I live in Michigan? Thanks so much!!

      Delete
  3. Squirrels are fun to watch. Our Little Bit knew where every squirrel was when we would go to different places. It would be a year and she knew which tree to explore to find her squirrels. Such fun she had.

    Have a purrfect day, Cody. My best to your mom. ♥♥♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandee I LOVE that story! Little Bit was such a sweet and smart woofie! (((hugs))) and much love

      Delete
  4. I'm all in for Squirrel Appreciation Day, Caren. I've always loved these sweet little guys. Your colored squirrel looks adorable. Did you read this article about a cat and his squirrel friend? It's too cute. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5278473/Squirrel-cat-inseparable.html
    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep I saw that article, it isn't the first time a kitty adopted a squirrel! I have seen a few instances of it. you have a great week too!

      Delete
  5. Aww, squirrels are so cute! They never come around where we live. But if I see one when I'm out and about, I'll always stop to watch it. I love your stuffed animal squirrels. And a beautiful coloring!

    ReplyDelete
  6. We love squirrels here, too, Caren! Our Angel Zoe used to love watching them through our sliding glass door as they ran around the backyard.

    ReplyDelete
  7. WE have a zillion trillion squirrels in our backyard. But since our resident outdoor (feral) cat took residence out back, we've seen way less of any! Ummm I wonder why?

    ReplyDelete
  8. My husband LOVES squirrels . . . buys bags of nuts and dried corn for them. We live in squirrel paradise where there are lots of trees and lots of free nuts everywhere but they still venture into the yard and pilfer from the bird feeders. We have both grey-tailed and red-tailed. Daffy, unfortunately, is not at all interested in their activities. She's not much of a huntress.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That was such a fun post and we do love to watch squirrels too. Even with all of our ferals the squirrels still have fun outsmarting them on a daily basis!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I luv watching skwerrils out da window! And today my momma wore skwerril jewelry.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I love this post about the squirrels! I used to see them when I live in California but haven't seen any since I moved back to Arizona. I do miss the little buggers. They are so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  12. We love watching the squirrels too...though honestly, we think sometimes they are taunting us from outside and it really irritates us.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cute squirrel pics and you did a nice job coloring the picture. I don't have enough patience to color, so I always appreciate the artwork of those who do.
    There's been a gray squirrel visiting our yard lately. It's fun to watch and we hope the fox squirrels don't chase it away.

    ReplyDelete
  14. We are totally in love with squirrels to, but we don't have them in our garden either, so I watch squirrel tv instead of birdtv sometimes, Cody. That's a great coloring of your mom too! Pawkisses for a Happy Day :) <3

    ReplyDelete
  15. Question: Why do chickens cross the road?
    Answer: To show the squirrels that it can be done.
    Sorry! Sorry!
    We all enjoy watching them here too.
    xxoo



    ReplyDelete
  16. I think squirrels are just so cute! I love feeding them in our back yard and watching them dig for the gold. And the way they eat, even that is cute. I think I enjoy Squirrel TV just as much as my kitties do!

    ReplyDelete
  17. While I'd love to share your enamor of squirrels, too often we've been tortured victims. At least in my neighborhood, the squirrels are big-time hooligans causing all manor of chaos and destruction. But if we catch any, I'll send them to you to enjoy after they've been rehabilitated. 🐿

    ReplyDelete
  18. Past summer there was a red squirrel furmily freeloading off the bird feeders...well, at least the seeds that the birds dropped. They were kind of cute...but...well, those rascals are naughty. I have see them chewing on the neighbors siding. OMC! And they had set up shop in their attic. Oops.
    A black one climbed up the enclosed wireing from the electric supply, and from there learned how to jump on to the feeders directly. Bit to no avail, the feeders do not easily relinquish the seeds...they are so called squirrel proof. Now there is a big stove pipe around the pole(s) of all my feeders except the one on the tree trunk. It is new...and supposedly very squirrel proof. Time will tell. It is fun to watch them think and try out new methods of feeder raiding...and they keep at it until they succeed!

    Dalton has a stuffed squirrel...but he chews on it! MJF just ignores it...in the past he would have shaken it to 'dead' it as any good terrier would do:)

    ReplyDelete