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You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Nature / Soothing Balm of Nature (Open Thread)

Soothing Balm of Nature (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  March 24, 20173:18 pm| 85 Comments

This post is in: Nature, Open Threads

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As we wait for the Trumpcare vote to come down, here’s something lovely to look at — our white squirrel, Salt, hanging out in an oak tree:

Open thread!

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Previous Post: « Juliet was waiting with a safety net
Next Post: It’s all over now »

Reader Interactions

85Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 24, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    She is pretty. Where is her Romeo?

  2. 2.

    debit

    March 24, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    What a cutie!!

  3. 3.

    evap

    March 24, 2017 at 3:22 pm

    Interesting… it doesn’t appear to be an albino since the eyes don’t look red. I saw a white squirrel once (on the mall in Washington D.C.) and it had distinctive red eyes, so I’m assuming an albino. In any case, great picture!

  4. 4.

    TenguPhule

    March 24, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    Look, a squirrel!

    /someone had to say it.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    Little bastards. I almost ran one over today on the way back from dropping my son off at school. Came out of nowhere and was at full speed in two jumps headed into the damn street. I slammed on the brakes and moved over a foot or so (this was a wide street or I would not have had a choice). All the while I am yelling at him, “DAMMIT SQUIRRELLY!! DON’TFUCKINGDOIT!”

  6. 6.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    March 24, 2017 at 3:24 pm

    Death to all tree rats, even if they’re albino.

  7. 7.

    amk

    March 24, 2017 at 3:25 pm

    1. That time a novice chief executive made a foolhardy promise, his erstwhile allies rushed to get it done—and it all fell apart in the end.— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 24, 2017

    arrested development reference in that tweet thread

  8. 8.

    TenguPhule

    March 24, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    @Thoroughly Pizzled: Fried in a pan, they make a good source of protein.

  9. 9.

    Mustang Bobby

    March 24, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    Sorry, but squirrels — except Rocky — fall in the same category as deer: nice to look at in pictures but a damned nuisance in real life. They are rats with a good wardrobe.

  10. 10.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    March 24, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    Salt is adorable. And with those dark eyes, not an albino.
    @debit: You are an angel walking the earth. Much like this guy does for kids.

  11. 11.

    efgoldman

    March 24, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    @debit:

    What a cutie!!

    Squirrels are vermin

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 3:28 pm

    I like squirrels. Thank you, Betty.

    Balm indeed.

  13. 13.

    Mike J

    March 24, 2017 at 3:29 pm

    AFP news agency‏ Verified account @AFP
    #BREAKING Russian President Putin meets France’s Le Pen in Moscow: agencies

  14. 14.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    @TenguPhule: Bullshit. Not enough meat on them to be efficient and too lean (and stringy) to make those nuggets worth the time.

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    March 24, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    Don’t like squirrels, but this one is cute.

  16. 16.

    japa21

    March 24, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    No such thing as a cute squirrel. We love our birds and have 4 feeders. Finally got some the squirrels can’t get into. So they hang around at the base of the trees eating up all the scraps and chasing away those birds that are ground feeders.

  17. 17.

    chris

    March 24, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    @Corner Stone: They do that here too. They wait until they see the whites of your eyes before running out in front of the vehicle. I think it’s some kind of game that they often lose. “Here, hold my acorn…”

  18. 18.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 24, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    @amk: I’ve made a huge mistake.

    ETA: trump really is such a Gob, even if Gob is named after Jeb!. I can just see him yelling about his FOUR THOUSAND DOLLAR PANTS!

  19. 19.

    glory b

    March 24, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    Saw this as breaking in the NYT, Ryan leaving for the White House to tell Trump there’s not enough votes to pass the health care bill.

  20. 20.

    germy

    March 24, 2017 at 3:31 pm

    @efgoldman: What about the waterskiing squirrel?

  21. 21.

    efgoldman

    March 24, 2017 at 3:32 pm

    OT But important:

    CNN breaking: Healthcare Vote expected Soon. Republican Study Committee Chair says it may be a “good moment” for Dems

  22. 22.

    Chris

    March 24, 2017 at 3:32 pm

    @Mustang Bobby:

    At the tourist gift shop I worked in a couple years ago, we had a squirrel get into the hat room who stayed there an entire day and couldn’t be gotten out, which made for an interesting day as many clients helpfully informed us that we had a squirrel in the hat room.

    Thankfully, gone the next morning.

  23. 23.

    germy

    March 24, 2017 at 3:32 pm

    The Associated Press‏Verified account @AP 1h1 hour ago

    The Latest: White House is no longer expressing confidence upcoming House vote on health care will be successful.

  24. 24.

    dollared

    March 24, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    hoo boy. In Crackerland, even the squirrels are white.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    @chris:

    I think it’s some kind of game that they often lose. “Here, hold my acorn…”

    They’re fucking nuts! Nuts, I tells ya!

  26. 26.

    efgoldman

    March 24, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    @germy:

    What about the waterskiing squirrel?

    Wet vermin

  27. 27.

    debit

    March 24, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: And now I’m sobbing. That guy is an actual saint.

  28. 28.

    bupalos

    March 24, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    @glory b: Old news glory. He’s been there, done that, left, and Sean Spicer basically did the epitaph. That thing is in flames and hurtling towards the canyon floor.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    BOOOOMMM!!! ROASTED!!

  30. 30.

    germy

    March 24, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    @efgoldman: I always suspected the waterskiing squirrel had no choice in the matter. They basically strapped him in and said “Call the media!”

  31. 31.

    chris

    March 24, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    I know we’re all focused on AHCA but this is kind of important too. State has issued a Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline aka The Death Funnel (h/t CP Pierce.)

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    March 24, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    FWIW, Salt is what is technically knows as “leucistic” rather than albino. The genetic causes of leucism and albinism are different, so they have different detailed effects, one of which is the difference in eye color most people notice.

  33. 33.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    CNN reporting: Trump asked Speaker to pull the bill.

    And leave it alone, you morons.

  34. 34.

    Yarrow

    March 24, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    Trump asked them to pull the bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

  35. 35.

    bystander

    March 24, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    They’re pulling the Tryancare bill. Sad.

    We have a red squirrel eating all the bird seed today.

    ETA. The reps Trump tried to pressure all refused to vote Yes. The Russian taint is starting to waft over Capitol Hill.

  36. 36.

    p.a.

    March 24, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    Ackbar voice: It’s a trap!

    MSM full of Repub ‘sources’ saying it’s DOA. They’re just playing the media to lower its credibility (such as it is anyway…)

    If it does go down, I have a nice Belgian ale I’ll pop open.

    ETA: Where’s my Chimay glass?!

  37. 37.

    Another Scott

    March 24, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    @japa21: I’ve been very happy with this “hot meats” seed – it’s expensive (you might be able to find it substantially cheaper at your local mom-and-pop HW store), but it last for weeks (rather than being gone in a couple of days for the non-hot version). Lots of mammals don’t like the hot peppers, but birds either don’t mind or love it.

    The lack of hulls means there’s no mountains of waste to clean up, either.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  38. 38.

    Keith P.

    March 24, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    @Yarrow: That ultimatum must have been one of the times Trump was joking.

  39. 39.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 3:38 pm

    I fucking hate Donald Trump so fucking much.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Saw that article when it appeared. Man who cares for foster children in hospice.

    Did not get much play. Because:

    Bzeek, a quiet, devout Libyan-born Muslim who lives in Azusa, just wants her to know she’s not alone in this life.

    Foreign born Muslim doing good. Not airworthy.

  41. 41.

    Ohio Mom

    March 24, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    I admit I am following the vote this afternoon in order to avoid housework.

    I was watching the House live via the NYT. All of a sudden, a recess was declared. Lots of groans. No restart time given.

    looks like I’m out of excuses, time to plug in the vacuum cleaner.

    P.S. When we lived in Dayton, Ohio, there was a clan of white squirrels a couple of blocks from us.

  42. 42.

    Roger Moore

    March 24, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    @bupalos:

    That thing is in flames and hurtling towards the canyon floor Paul Ryan’s doorbell has been rung.

    FTFY.

  43. 43.

    Yukoner

    March 24, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    What to do with all of your dead squirrels? Make art!

    http://www.yukon-news.com/arts/going-squirrelly-a-new-exhibit-presents-gord-downie-and-slash-in-furry-form/

  44. 44.

    joel hanes

    March 24, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    Humiliating squirrels can be great entertainment.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A-7g-fl3g8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5-d3rZZ-_M

  45. 45.

    TenguPhule

    March 24, 2017 at 3:42 pm

    @Corner Stone: There a nut famine in your region? A plump squirrel pan fried with brown gravy is awesome.

  46. 46.

    D58826

    March 24, 2017 at 3:43 pm

    WASHINGTON – House Republicans, short of votes, withdraw health care bill.

    just now on cnn

  47. 47.

    Betty Cracker

    March 24, 2017 at 3:43 pm

    @chris:

    “Here, hold my acorn…”

    Literal LOL!

  48. 48.

    Ohio Mom

    March 24, 2017 at 3:43 pm

    @Yarrow: Hooray! The bill is pulled. Living room rug, here I come. I didn’t realize how frozen with anxiety I was.

  49. 49.

    germy

    March 24, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    @D58826:

    short of votes, withdraw health care bill.

    doing my Mutley laugh.

  50. 50.

    EBT

    March 24, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    If you think you like squirrels, get ferrets instead.

  51. 51.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    Thank Dog. And we have to keep doing this, over and over.

  52. 52.

    Ĺadyraxterinok

    March 24, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    Anyone here remember that Mike? Doonesbury is from Tulsa? See the very first strip online.

  53. 53.

    Shell

    March 24, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    Isn’t there a town in New England that takes great pride in their white squirrel population? I think they even have an annual festival.

  54. 54.

    Fester Addams

    March 24, 2017 at 3:47 pm

    @Keith P.:

    @Yarrow: That ultimatum must have been one of the times Trump was joking

    Perhaps he’ll explain that he was being “sarcastic.”

  55. 55.

    Brachiator

    March 24, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    They pulled the bill.

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

  56. 56.

    D58826

    March 24, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    more on huffington – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/house-leaders-cancel-vote-obamacare-repeal_us_58d54cdde4b03692bea5563e?

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    March 24, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    @germy:

    doing my Mutley laugh.

    You mean, this one?

  58. 58.

    germy

    March 24, 2017 at 3:51 pm

    The decision means the Affordable Care Act remains in place, at least for now, and a major GOP campaign promise goes unfulfilled. It also casts doubt on the GOP’s ability to govern and to advance other high-stakes agenda items, including tax reform and infrastructure spending. Ryan is still without a signature achievement as speaker — and the defeat undermines Trump’s image as a skilled dealmaker willing to strike compromises to push his agenda forward.

    “I don’t blame Paul,” Trump said, referring to Ryan.

    WaPo

  59. 59.

    germy

    March 24, 2017 at 3:51 pm

    @Brachiator: You got the reference.
    I thought I was being too obscure.

  60. 60.

    chris

    March 24, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    @D58826:
    Woohoo! That’s the best news.

  61. 61.

    Betty

    March 24, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    And it’s over for now, but what comes next?

  62. 62.

    TenguPhule

    March 24, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    @Betty: The next battle. In a war where evil only has to win once.

  63. 63.

    Weasel Tracks

    March 24, 2017 at 3:54 pm

    There’s a number of black squirrels among the gray squirrel population near a Buddhist retreat center here in the Hudson Valley. Does that condition have a name, also?

  64. 64.

    Brachiator

    March 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    @Betty:

    And it’s over for now, but what comes next?

    They will want to try again before the Easter adjournment, April 7.

  65. 65.

    chris

    March 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    @Betty Cracker: You’re welcome. I live in squirrel country 6 miles from town on a paved road. In the spring there’s a flat squirrel every mile or so. Maybe they have there own Darwin Awards?

  66. 66.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    @Weasel Tracks: Those black squirrels are from Canada, they are bigger and meaner.

  67. 67.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 4:00 pm

    @TenguPhule: I’ve eaten more than a few. And I don’t care for them and hope to not be hunting them for sustenance any time soon.

  68. 68.

    JCJ

    March 24, 2017 at 4:05 pm

    @germy:

    I thought I was being too obscure.

    Not at all. I had that wheezy laugh in my mind as soon as I read your comment

  69. 69.

    debit

    March 24, 2017 at 4:06 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Huh. I thought black squirrels came from Mirkwood.

  70. 70.

    chris

    March 24, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    @chris: “Their” Dammit!

  71. 71.

    FlipYrWhig

    March 24, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    @germy:

    the defeat undermines Trump’s image as a skilled dealmaker willing to strike compromises to push his agenda forward

    What the what? Since when does Trump have an image as someone “willing to strike compromises”? His rep as “dealmaker” comes from the idea that he says “take it or leave it” and the other guy caves because he doesn’t have the balls. That’s the only way he talks about deals: that he has the unique ability to get everything he wants because he’s Trump.

  72. 72.

    D58826

    March 24, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    @chris: the car is the new apex predator since foxes, etc are in a bit of a short supply in urban areas

  73. 73.

    laura

    March 24, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    @debit: Whoo, that’s a tear maker. For some reason, I thought the link would be about the guy who made a tractor pulled train for his many, many rescue dogs.
    Evwryday saints walk among us.

  74. 74.

    Roger Moore

    March 24, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    @Weasel Tracks:

    There’s a number of black squirrels among the gray squirrel population near a Buddhist retreat center here in the Hudson Valley. Does that condition have a name, also?

    Being all black in a population that’s otherwise a different color is known as melanism. It’s most famous among felines, where you get things like black leopards (aka panthers), jaguars, and, of course, house cats.

  75. 75.

    moops

    March 24, 2017 at 4:23 pm

    @chris: no, best news would have been Trump forcing a vote and Ryan caving in to force it, then having it get crushed by his own Party. The GOP managed not to shoot their own toe off today (which was looking like a possibility).

    Now we will see how our media handle things. Several narratives could flow from this point. Ryan might have told Trump “we’re pulling it” and Trump then contacted his media contacts to tell them that He, Trump, decided to pull it. It still is a blow to the Trump image of forcing people to decide on the deals he offers them. Trump and Ryan are both unqualified for their positions. The factions springing up in the GOP would not be this bold if either was powerful right now.

  76. 76.

    StringOnAStick

    March 24, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    @D58826: Our fox population, plus the coyotes, got severely reduced by some disease a few years ago; what was once common isn’t common at all. I do occasionally see a black fox in the foothills above our home and it is gorgeous!

  77. 77.

    Geeno

    March 24, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    We had Black Squirrels at Kent State when I went there. They are bigger and do tend to crowd out the local grays wherever they go.

  78. 78.

    Geeno

    March 24, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    The ones at Kent were docile, but they were mooching off the students so they had to play nice.

  79. 79.

    Miss Bianca

    March 24, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    GHOST SQUIRREL!!

  80. 80.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    March 24, 2017 at 4:41 pm

    @Elizabelle: Exactly what I thought at the time, and continue to believe. Funny name the guy has, so the story doesn’t get the national recognition it deserves.

  81. 81.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    I love that little squirrel face.

    It’s so much more appealing than the Orange Furor, or Baby Blue Eyes Lyin’ Ryan.

    Bring on the squirrels.

  82. 82.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 4:46 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Do you know, I think Mr. Bzeek did not seek the acclamation, just the chance to be of service.

    But damn right more people should know about people like him.

  83. 83.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    March 24, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I think Mr. Bzeek did not seek the acclamation, just the chance to be of service.

    I have absolutely no doubt that is correct.

  84. 84.

    Skepticat

    March 24, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    @chris: I think it’s some kind of game that they often lose. “Here, hold my acorn…”
    For the win.

    After I finished my taxes this morning, I had someone I otherwise consider a dear and intelligent friend tell me that Trump is going to take care of lower- and middle-income people, the forgotten people. He’s still a dear friend; my opinion of his intelligence has deteriorated considerably.

  85. 85.

    Hunter

    March 25, 2017 at 11:01 am

    We have a strain of black squirrels in Chicago, although I haven’t seen any lately.

    Someone once asked me why I kept cats. “Because they’re almost as funny as squirrels and easier to keep.”

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