NE Squirrel Watchers...are your squirrels still very active, even unusually so compared to years past?

[unsinkable]

I don't remember squirrels being so active this late in the year...and in this much snow!

 

Bunches of squirrels are still digging through the snow to get to the lawn. And they are plumper and bigger than I remember them ever being.

 

I wonder if I am mis-remembering or if there are some unusually active plump squirrels around here!?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Beware the squirrel uprising.   :leaving:

[Farrar]

Hm...  A little.  The backyard squirrels seem extra frisky this year.  The other day, one of them was on my fence and as I went through the gate, he ran straight at me along the top of the fence and jumped over my head as I walked through that gate.  The kids were like, whoa!  It was definitely a little odd.

 

There's an albino squirrel at one of our friends' homes that we've seen several times this year.  That's cool.

[unsinkable]

Beware the squirrel uprising. :leaving:

Thanks for the warning! :lol:

 

We have a joke about the dachshund uprising. There is someone in the neighborhood who has four of them and we think they're plotting.

[unsinkable]

Hm... A little. The backyard squirrels seem extra frisky this year. The other day, one of them was on my fence and as I went through the gate, he ran straight at me along the top of the fence and jumped over my head as I walked through that gate. The kids were like, whoa! It was definitely a little odd.

 

There's an albino squirrel at one of our friends' homes that we've seen several times this year. That's cool.

That does sound extra frisky...

[Belacqua]

Ours are engaging in escalating turf wars. Big, ugly Gray Squirrels v. crafty, adorable Douglas Squirrels. Not that I've chosen sides, or anything.

 

We're not NE, though, so I can't speak to your level of friskiness. And now I want to see an albino squirrel.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I love the Douglas squirrels!  We have one who comes right up to us.  We've named him Lightning.  

[Farrar]

The albino squirrel is nifty.  Some of the ones in our neighborhood are black, meaning they're the descendants of a small group of black squirrels that were released at the National Zoo from another part of the country about a century ago. 

[LostSurprise]

Yes. The dog is not amused. 

 

The other day it was -30 with the windchill. I told them, "Squirrels, I realize you are not true hibernators, but at least pretend for a few days. If I have to listen to this dog bark one more time I will consider releasing him out the front door to guard your acorn hordes like Smaug in the Lonely Mountain."

 

I'm unsure how apt the metaphor is but I was not in my right mind at the time.

[Chris in VA]

lol--I remember having hordes of squirrels on the porch a couple of years ago. I asked the Hive, "What could they be doing?"

 

One poster said, "Massing for an attack?" 

 

Still cracks us up here, whenever we see more than a couple at once...

 

 

And no, not really active here, but nothing is out for them yet. We put out seed and stuff for birds/critters in the winter. 

[Chris in VA]

(Just occurred to me I'm not really in the NE anymore! lol Sorry about posting.)

[ElizabethB]

Ours are engaging in escalating turf wars. Big, ugly Gray Squirrels v. crafty, adorable Douglas Squirrels. Not that I've chosen sides, or anything.

 

We're not NE, though, so I can't speak to your level of friskiness. And now I want to see an albino squirrel.

We considered visiting them when we lived in IL, here is a movie of the white squirrels of Olney, IL. We decided just to watch the YouTube and call it good. If it had been closer we would have visited.

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E2AWvMHKcIs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DE2AWvMHKcIs

[AlmiraGulch]

Squirrel watching is a thing? 

[unsinkable]

Squirrel watching is a thing?

When you have a child who is too sick to leave the house for days at a time, watching squirrels is a thing. It's her thing so I join in. So now it's my thing, too.

[AlmiraGulch]

When you have a child who is too sick to leave the house for days at a time, watching squirrels is a thing. It's her thing so I join in. So now it's my thing, too.

 

Well, that does make sense.  But apparently there are a lot of people who are into this who are not in the same situation, and I've just never heard of it.  You learn something new everyday.

[Belacqua]

Squirrel watching is a thing? 

 

As an example, these are my options right now:

 

1. Enter genetics lesson plans into planning database. OR

 

2. Watch two squirrels battle over the birdfeeder on a tree. One is sitting atop the feeder, chirping menacingly (as only little squirrels can do). The other is climbing the tree in a manner he evidently believes to be stealthy, like he's General Wolfe advancing to the Plains of Abraham. Stellers jays are watching the whole thing and offering commentary.

 

Easy choice. 

 

[Please ignore, if you will, the obvious flaw in my logic: my third choice, or at least concurrent-with-second-choice, is putzing around on the forums and getting no work done at all. The squirrel watching defense still holds. :)] 

[Catwoman]

Squirrel watching is a thing?

The cat got me hooked on it.

 

Squirrels are cool. :)

[unsinkable]

The cat got me hooked on it.

 

Squirrels are cool. :)

 

So are cats!

[Hunter's Moon]

I have been thinking the same thing. There plumpness just makes then extra cute!

 

I did see two fighting the other morning, which I don't see two often.

[Pegasus]

Squirrel watching is a thing? 

 

In our case, it started as bird watching.  The squirrels got into the action to share the seed.  They can be very entertaining!  We also have some cute striped chipmunks that join in - love to watch them stuff their cheeks.

[Catwoman]

I have been thinking the same thing. There plumpness just makes then extra cute!

 

I did see two fighting the other morning, which I don't see two often.

We have two in our yard that hate each other. They both get along with the other squirrels, but whenever they see each other, things turn kind of ugly.

 

Most of the animals in our yard have a live and let live philosophy. We even have a rabbit and a fox that both live under our deck. I keep wondering if the rabbit is always asking the fox, "Now you're 100 percent sure you're not hungry, right?" ;)

 

But really, they have both lived under there for a long time, so I guess they must be friends.

[Catwoman]

In our case, it started as bird watching. The squirrels got into the action to share the seed. They can be very entertaining! We also have some cute striped chipmunks that join in - love to watch them stuff their cheeks.

I hand feed a couple of the chipmunks in our yard, and one of them can stuff 6 almonds in his mouth at once. If I don't give him enough to fill his cheeks, he just keeps sitting there and staring at me, and he won't go back outside until he gets what he wants.

 

Even the wild animals in my yard are spoiled rotten.

[trulycrabby]

We have lots of squirrels, and our cat hangs out on the roof and chases them (a lot!). . Sounds like a herd of elephants overhead!