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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Squirrel! (Open Thread)

Squirrel! (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  June 17, 20213:36 pm| 98 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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My husband the gardener disapproves, but I’ve got a new squirrel-friend:

She (pretty sure it’s a girl) recently started raiding one of the porch feeders, which is okay by me. I’m going to get some peanuts for her next time I’m out.

Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    laura

    June 17, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    Fierce Smize on your squirrel girl!

    Also, it’s hot as the hinges of hell here in Sacto. We’re hunkered down with a Giants DBacks day game so “coping.”

  2. 2.

    lowtechcyclist

    June 17, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    There’s no point in bothering to try to keep squirrels out of bird feeders. They’re smart and persistent and will find a way.

  3. 3.

    pacem appellant

    June 17, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    Mark Rober, of YouTube, drives me batty with his squirrel training and feeding escapades. Since he lives in my neighborhood, he’s just further domesticating the already noisome pests.

  4. 4.

    retiredeng

    June 17, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    Just remember to get unsalted peanuts.

  5. 5.

    MagdaInBlack

    June 17, 2021 at 3:42 pm

    My squirrel is Pearl the Squirrel. In the evening we sit on the balcony, she has peanuts, I have iced tea, we discuss the day. =-)

  6. 6.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 17, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    One of Joe Manchin’s good Republicans. I wonder why Stacey Abrams’ support would color Senator Blunt’s view in this way?

    Burgess Everett @burgessev 2h
    Sen. Blunt says once Stacy Abrams endorsed Manchin’s elections compromise it became the Stacy Abrams proposal

    Here’s Blunt’s quote When “Stacey Abrams immediately endorsed Sen. Manchin’s proposal, it became the Stacey Abrams substitute, not the Joe Manchin substitute.”

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 3:45 pm

    Biden and MVP Harris arriving to sign the Juneteenth legislation, and both will make remarks

    Standing ovation from the audience.

  8. 8.

    cope

    June 17, 2021 at 3:45 pm

    They have figured out how to gymnastic themselves up to the feeder hanging from the ceiling of our front porch as well.  Their latest assault is on our hummingbird feeder from which they like to take long quaffs of sweet, sweet nectar.  Le sigh.

  9. 9.

    lowtechcyclist

    June 17, 2021 at 3:45 pm

    @MagdaInBlack:

    My squirrel is Pearl the Squirrel. In the evening we sit on the balcony, she has peanuts, I have iced tea, we discuss the day. =-)

    Does she share any pearls of wisdom?

  10. 10.

    mikefromArlington

    June 17, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    You’ll like this.

    Squirrel obstacle corse.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8

  11. 11.

    Drunkenhausfrau

    June 17, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    Your dogs don’t go nuts?  My Otis chases them even in his dreams.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 17, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    I know squirrels can be terrible pests, but I’ve always had a great fondness for them. That’s a particularly attractive squirrel.

    Different subject, Joe’s about to sign the Juneteenth Bill.

  13. 13.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    WaPost homepage has link to Biden and VP Harris, who is speaking now, and absolutely delighted with the occasion.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com

  14. 14.

    germy

    June 17, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    Nothing; just a squirrel doing a superhero landing ??#AnimalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/6RKHeN5ocN— Uddalak (@_UC007_) December 13, 2020

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    June 17, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    That’s the type of thing up with which my dog would not put. Show-quality point and then either barking (if inside or it’s far up on a wire) or a sudden bolt at said squirrel.

    It’s the law.

    On the topic of yard critters, we have for the first time in years doves nesting in our persimmon, out on a mesh platform I placed on a far-reaching branch and hopefully away from, yes, squirrels and rats that raid nests. The above-referenced bird dog has NOT noticed yet and I’m hoping to keep it that way. If there are fledglings I have a new problem to address.

  16. 16.

    Another Scott

    June 17, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    In other news, …

    Simon McLaren, the former director of communications for the helicopter startup Blade, has been interviewed on the record by reporters at outlets like Vanity Fair, the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN.

    The only problem is… he doesn’t exist.https://t.co/RQuQibRuEr

    — Gabrielle Bluestone (@g_bluestone) June 17, 2021

    Hmmm….

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    June 17, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    @mikefromArlington:

    That’s a absolutely epic video and gizmo geek-out. I want his job!

  18. 18.

    lowtechcyclist

    June 17, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    @cope:

    Their latest assault is on our hummingbird feeder from which they like to take long quaffs of sweet, sweet nectar.  Le sigh.

    Now that’s a new one to me!  I’ve had a hummingbird feeder hanging outside the window next to my desk, last year and this.  While I’m working, I see every time a hummer visits.  But no squirrels have even shown an interest.

  19. 19.

    MattF

    June 17, 2021 at 3:50 pm

    News from the home front— just got real broadband (Verizon Fios) installed. It’s somewhere between 20 and 100 times faster than my old service, depending on the device. But we’re talking 100’s of Mbps. The surprise is that it’s actually cheaper than the old service. Go figure.

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 3:50 pm

    VP Harris:  “We must learn from our history, and we must teach our children our history.”

    This just after bringing up the recent commemoration of the Tulsa Massacre.  Which she called a massacre.

  21. 21.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    @laura:

    We’re hunkered down with a Giants DBacks day game so “coping.” 

    Safe to say congrats on the Giants’ W.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    June 17, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I saw what you did there.

  23. 23.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    What not a surprise that Texas was the last holdout in maintaining slavery.  Texas, Texas, Texas.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    June 17, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    @Another Scott:

    Eh…I don’t exist but you all still talk to me.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    June 17, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    @Drunkenhausfrau: The squirrel is really good at avoiding the dogs. They would go ape-shit if they saw her!

    @cope: Never seen a squirrel do that — you must have particularly smart squirrels!

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    June 17, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    My dogs gonna dog follow up is that while pretty much everybody’s dog that I know DEMANDS THAT SQUIRREL the only one I have ever known to actually achieve that squirrel-getting was Walter the JRT. Walter was a natural born killer.

  27. 27.

    pacem appellant

    June 17, 2021 at 3:54 pm

    @mikefromArlington: Did you not see my comment above? Stop encouraging him!

  28. 28.

    Major Major Major Major

    June 17, 2021 at 3:55 pm

    Omgosh, I love her!

  29. 29.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 17, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    So my dad had a heart attack two weeks ago.  He is doing well; they put in one stent and it is taking care of business.  With Fathers’ Day coming up, I want to get him some heart healthy (low sodium) spicy mixes from Penzey’s.  Any suggestions?  Being in Madison, we have a brick and mortar Penzey’s that I am going to head out to in a little bit.

  30. 30.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    Betty C:  your squirrel is very appealing.  I think she might be named Eloise.

    What ever happened to the albino squirrel at the previous Casa Cracker?

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    @cope:

    Their latest assault is on our hummingbird feeder from which they like to take long quaffs of sweet, sweet nectar.  Le sigh. 

    How do they get to the nectar?

  32. 32.

    Cameron

    June 17, 2021 at 3:58 pm

    My friend down on Siesta Key has a house cat who loves to go out on her lanai and stalk the rabbits and squirrels from indoors.  I told her that’s his version of a video game.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    June 17, 2021 at 3:58 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Particularly egregious comment from that corrupt fuck-nugget, but we all know Republicans aren’t interested in any measure that will expand ballot access since their entire political strategy hinges on suppressing the vote. Manchin may be dumb enough to believe it — who knows?

  34. 34.

    Anoniminous

    June 17, 2021 at 3:59 pm

    Yesterday

    Lordstown has binding orders, says limited production starts this year

    “Lordstown Motors has been having a tough time recently. The Ohio-based electric truck startup was accused of misleading investors about the extent of its order books, leading to an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This in turn led the company to issue a “going concern” warning, followed by the departure of its CEO and CFO.

    But on Tuesday, a day after the executive resignations, the company stated that limited production of its Endurance work truck will begin later this year. Lordstown’s president Rich Schmidt told journalists at a press event that there were enough “binding orders” to fund this limited production until May 2022 …”

    Today

    Lordstown Motors now says that it has no binding orders for EV truck

    “… on Thursday morning, Lordstown sent the US Securities and Exchange Commission a new Form 8-K revealing that those binding orders are nothing of the sort.”

    President Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine praise Lordstown when it bought the former General Motors plant in 2019 calling it “the future of Youngstown manufacturing.”

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    Joe just brought up “the sacred right to vote, under attack.”

    Good speech about all the concrete things we can do to ensure equality.  Education, health.

    They’re doing more outreach on vaccines; there is a racial gap in those who have received them.

    Today is the 6th anniversary of the Mother Emmanuel deaths.

    “Hate only hides.  It never goes away …. it breathes oxygen under that rock.”

  36. 36.

    Ken

    June 17, 2021 at 4:01 pm

    Mention of squirrels and peanuts reminds me that Tom Lehrer recently put his entire catalog in the public domain.

    ? And maybe we’ll do in a squirrel or two, as we poison the pigeons in the park…

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 17, 2021 at 4:01 pm

    @Betty Cracker: the Blunts and the Portmans, the ones running away from the mess they made, are just a different kind of scummy than the Hawleys and the Cottons. Call it “pulling a Snowe”

  38. 38.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    This is a transformational presidency.

  39. 39.

    Betty Cracker

    June 17, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    @Elizabelle: Eloise — that’s good!

    I’m in touch with a couple of neighbors who say the white squirrels still roam the old ‘hood. They aren’t albino squirrels — black eyes, not pink. At this point, we’re sure it’s a genetic thing that has carried on through generations because we first saw a white squirrel there more than 10 years ago, and there’s no way it’s the same squirrel!

  40. 40.

    rikyrah

    June 17, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    @cope:

    They have figured out how to gymnastic themselves up to the feeder hanging from the ceiling of our front porch as well.

     

    I think AL had frontpaged a video from a guy who put an entire obstacle course in his backyard, and how the squirrels were smart enough to figure it out. Cracked me up.

  41. 41.

    Leto

    June 17, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    @pacem appellant: what’s that? Like and subscribe? Already did!

  42. 42.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 4:05 pm

    @Another Scott: “the Uber for helicopters and chartered jets” Oh for fuck’s sake!

    I’d love to meet the investors.  I have a business proposal of “Give me heaps of money!”

  43. 43.

    MomSense

    June 17, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I’m glad he is doing ok.

  44. 44.

    piratedan

    June 17, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: The DBacks get their top starter back for this game, but considering the imaginative ways they’ve found to lose thus far (22 road games in a row… and counting), I would still like the chances of Los Gigantes.

  45. 45.

    Ken

    June 17, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    @Betty Cracker: we first saw a white squirrel there more than 10 years ago, and there’s no way it’s the same squirrel!

    Oh, I dunno. An immortal white squirrel sounds pretty believable to me, but maybe I read too many of the wrong kind of books.

  46. 46.

    Ken

    June 17, 2021 at 4:09 pm

    @Anoniminous: President Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine praise Lordstown calling it “the future of Youngstown manufacturing.”

    “Not actually making anything and lying to investors to get more money for executive bonuses” is a kind of future.

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    @Baud: Baudbot 2024!

  48. 48.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 17, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If you previously posted about this, I missed it. All best wishes to your dad for a good recovery and full return to robust health. I’m only just getting to know Penzey’s so can’t give you much advice, but I would think anyone at their b&m store would be full of good suggestions.

  49. 49.

    Betty Cracker

    June 17, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Glad to hear he’s on the mend! My mom was a cardiac care nurse for about 30 years (retired in 2013 or so), and she used to marvel at the advances in care she’d seen over her career and said it was the simple things like stents that made such a huge difference in people’s lives. It was a simple fix once they figured out the complicated technology to place the hardware.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 17, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I thought it was a very moving ceremony.

  51. 51.

    kindness

    June 17, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    Where I grew up in the NYC suburbs we used to go to CT every summer.  The clan had several homes on the shore, one of them was my folks.  My grandfather (who used to live at the house in Tarrytown while we were in CT) used to tame the squirrels every summer feeding them peanuts.  And every year after Labor Day when we came back, those poor squirrels would get shocked to meet our dog who loved chasing squirrels (but never caught one thank the FSM).  He’d tame the local skunks too.  There would be 2 parents and 8 baby skunks eating peanuts at your feet.  Have I ever said how adorable baby skunks are?  They are.  Except they wouldn’t run and climb trees when my dog chased them.  They’d just hose down the dog with skunk juice.  Took a few years for my parents pleading with Grandpa not to feed the skunks before he stopped doing it.  Out here in the Central Valley of Ca, we have mostly ground squirrels rather than tree squirrels.  I’m not nearly as much a fan of ground squirrels.  Such is life I guess.

  52. 52.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 17, 2021 at 4:14 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I did not post about it previously and only mentioned it now because I am searching for recommendations.  Thanks for the good wishes.

  53. 53.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 17, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    This is a transformational presidency.

    It absolutely is. I’m so grateful I’m alive to watch it happen and be, in a small way, a participant.

  54. 54.

    germy

    June 17, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    I voted against a bill that would make Juneteenth National Independence Day a federal holiday. One of 14 Republicans to do so.

    This legislation is the culmination of decades of efforts by the Left to prevent unashamed celebrations of our national story, heritage, and history.

    — Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) June 16, 2021

    Their intent is to replace the Fourth of July with this new day, one that will inevitably focus on America's darkest moments.

    — Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) June 16, 2021

  55. 55.

    Auntie Anne

    June 17, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: the Italian salt-free is really good.  Get that one for sure! i also like the Arizona Dreaming, although I use it less often – Daddy at 86 is not an adventurous eater.

  56. 56.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:   It was.  Good history lesson, too.

  57. 57.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    @piratedan: Exactly.  And I suspect the Dodgers are gonna wipe the field with them in Phoenix.

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    June 17, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ve become a huge fan of their Adobo seasoning.  Salt-free. Really nice flavor without being overpowering. I put it on just about any meat after cooking.

    HTH.

    Quick recovery to your Papa!

    Cheer,
    Scott.

  59. 59.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Full recovery and flavorful food to your dad!

  60. 60.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 4:20 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:   For a few moments at the signing, I thought I saw John Cornyn (!) at the back of the group.  But couldn’t be, right?  (I was listening, not watching, most of it.)

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    June 17, 2021 at 4:20 pm

    @germy:

    Rosendale’s party tried to replace July 4th with January 6th.

    He is welcome to go fuck himself.

  62. 62.

    Another Scott

    June 17, 2021 at 4:20 pm

    @Anoniminous: Saw that.

    Pump and Dump?

    Dunno.  But someone needs to be asking them pointed questions, stat!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  63. 63.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 17, 2021 at 4:25 pm

    @germy: LOhuh?

  64. 64.

    Another Scott

    June 17, 2021 at 4:25 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    There are two basic types of white squirrels: albino and leucistic. Albinos have pink or blue eyes and no dark pigments anywhere on their bodies. Squirrels that have white coats and dark eyes are called leucistic. Another type of white squirrel is predominantly white and sports a dark head patch and stripe on its back. The white-phase gray squirrel I saw a few years ago was leucistic.

    We overwhelmingly have grey squirrels here in NoVA though I have seen at least one black one and one albino in the last 30-mumble years.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  65. 65.

    Another Scott

    June 17, 2021 at 4:28 pm

    @Elizabelle: Cornyn was the main sponsor in the Senate.  He had good things to say after it passed the Senate.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  66. 66.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 4:33 pm

    @Another Scott: 

    Aha. Thank you. That ‘splains it.

  67. 67.

    ellenr

    June 17, 2021 at 4:34 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
      Herbes de Provence

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    June 17, 2021 at 4:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Glad your dad is doing well!  I tend to get individual spices from them, which I love, but that’s no help to you.  Jealous that you get to go to a real Penzey’s store.  I can still remember the smells from the one I went to years ago.

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    June 17, 2021 at 4:44 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I bet it would have gone over a lot better with republicans if Stacey Abrams hated it.

  70. 70.

    Cameron

    June 17, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I thought that was one of those immature obscene things that frat boys did.

  71. 71.

    rikyrah

    June 17, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I would say go to where they have the little bags of spices and try them. I got to try out a  lot of their spices that way.

    I absolutely love and buy in the large jars

    Granulated garlic

    Lemon Pepper

    Greek Seasoning

    They have a good non-salt seasoning, I can’t remember the name, but, I always buy it.

    Bonne herbs

    Herbs de provence

  72. 72.

    rikyrah

    June 17, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

     

    Glad that your Dad is doing better :)

  73. 73.

    rikyrah

    June 17, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    @germy:

     

    Their intent is to replace the Fourth of July with this new day, one that will inevitably focus on America’s darkest moments.

     

    Moments.

    Moments.

     

    Slavery was from 1619 – 1865.

    A MOMENT?

     

    the FREEING OF SLAVES WAS A DARK MOMENT?

  74. 74.

    debbie

    June 17, 2021 at 4:56 pm

    That is one healthy-looking squirrel! The squirrels around here are scrawny and their tails are even scrawnier.

  75. 75.

    debbie

    June 17, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    @rikyrah:

    This bitch was on my local NPR radio station this morning expounding about her bill to prohibit indoctrination.

    Last week, State Representatives Diane Grendell (R-Chesterland) and Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula) introduced House Bill 327, a bill to promote education not indoctrination, by prohibiting school districts, schools, teachers, and state and local entities, from promoting divisive concepts.*

    Divisive concepts are clearly defined within the bill as training or requiring someone to believe that they are better or worse than another person based solely upon the external characteristics of “nationality, race, color, ethnicity, religion, or sex,” similarly described in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Rather, the bill sponsors stated that they want “to promote respect for all, strength through diversity, and recognition of the contributions of others whose external characteristics differ from ourselves.”

    HB 327 specifically encourages the objective instruction and impartial discussion about divisive concepts while prohibiting the promotion, indoctrination or forced acceptance of the concepts contained therein.

    “We oppose racism,” Representative Grendell said. “The purpose of this bill is to provide equal and non-discriminatory education opportunities to students, while preventing further division among Americans.”

    “Racism is ALWAYS wrong,” Representative Fowler Arthur agreed. “This bill does NOT prevent schools or government entities from teaching about racism, slavery, and segregation. What it prohibits is schools from indoctrinating students by claiming one race is superior to another or that individuals should be treated differently on the basis of race. HB 327 encourages the objective instruction about and discussion of divisive concepts, rather than allowing taxpayer dollars to be spent on concepts that divide, rather than unite, students.”

    Representatives Grendell and Fowler Arthur both said this is an issue of concern for their constituents and parents across the state of Ohio, who have expressed concerns about increasingly racially antagonistic materials being taught in their children’s classrooms.

    “This is a significant statewide issue,” Representative Grendell said. “We continue to hear it from our colleagues, as well, and that is one reason we have thirty-five co-sponsors supporting the bill.”

    I will skip linking to the audio because it’s a very maddening 20-minute segment.

  76. 76.

    Kayla Rudbek

    June 17, 2021 at 5:02 pm

     

     

    @Omnes Omnibus: sunny Paris and Justice are on my list to buy more, so those are my first two suggestions. They make even egg substitute taste good.

  77. 77.

    Kayla Rudbek

    June 17, 2021 at 5:05 pm

    @Betty Cracker: there’s an opposite mutation for black squirrels as well. I think that the National Zoo had some, and then some of them escaped and/or interbred with the native grey squirrels. So now DC has black squirrels as well as grey…

  78. 78.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 5:07 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek:  Yes!  There were black squirrels in upper Georgetown.  It was startling.

  79. 79.

    rikyrah

    June 17, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    THE most aggressive squirrels that I have ever seen were in Washington, D.C. I mean, they came right up to you. Stood there, waiting for you to feed them. Didn’t move at all when you told them to ‘ shoo’. Had never seen anything like it, and I’ve been an Urban dweller all my life.

  80. 80.

    NeenerNeener

    June 17, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    A friend of mine had a chipmunk living in her coat closet all winter. The cat brought it in and when she convinced him to drop it, it suddenly sprang to life and dived under the closet door and she couldn’t get it out. She tried several different types of traps which the ‘munk defeated with ease. She built a protected runway for it from the closet to the back porch out of Amazon boxes and locked the cats in the garage. She heard it move from the closet out to the back deck but when she went to close the sliding glass door it ran back inside and dove into the closet again, so she resigned herself to living with it until the next warm spell. She rigged up a little water bowl and fed it lettuce and nuts all winter. She even bought it a little hamster bed and it used it! Unfortunately just as the weather started turning for the better she found it dead next to its little bed.

  81. 81.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    @NeenerNeener:   Bittersweet little story.

    I wonder how long chipmunks live.  Your friend’s may have increased its life chances by moving into the closet

    ETA:  Wiki informs chipmunks live about 3 years; up to 9 in captivity.

    In my old neighborhood, my neighbor’s cat was death on the wildlife.  Chipmunks, birds, baby birds.  I actually liked the cat, but I hated its prowess and body count.  (The cat would actually bang on the screen door and come in and visit me.  Funny cat.)

  82. 82.

    NeenerNeener

    June 17, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    @Elizabelle: Yeah, there was no way to tell how old it was when it moved indoors. It might have been fairly elderly for a chipmunk, which is how the cat may have caught it in the first place. The last time I talked to her she said there’s a pregnant-looking one that’s been coming right up to the patio door and she’s afraid it wants in too.

  83. 83.

    Elizabelle

    June 17, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    @NeenerNeener:   That’s funny.  The word’s out in the neighborhood about your friend’s hospitable lodgings.

  84. 84.

    pacem appellant

    June 17, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    @Leto: I mean, yeah, support my awesome anti-theft neighbor and his glitterbomb habits, but the squirrel stuff… alright, the squirrels are pretty amazing. I prefer the birds but to each their own aerial entertainment.

  85. 85.

    cckids

    June 17, 2021 at 5:51 pm

    @rikyrah: THE most aggressive squirrels that I have ever seen were in Washington, D.C. I mean, they came right up to you. Stood there, waiting for you to feed them. Didn’t move at all when you told them to ‘ shoo’.

    They’ve got nothing on the squirrels in Zion NP. 12 years ago, my daughter & I were hiking one of the popular trails in the canyon, and saw a German tourist trying to get a close-up pic of a squirrel by pretending to have food in his hand; speaking German to it. The squirrel just ran over, briefly hesitated, then just climbed up his jeans. The guy frantically switched to English (lol), saying “I have no food!! I have no food!” as the cute rodent headed for his face. My daughter the quick thinker, grabbed a pretzel & lured the critter off the guy, then when it tried following her, scolded it firmly. It left.

    Since that time, Zion has had a major campaign to get people to stop feeding the wildlife; yes, even the squirrels. They can be little disease vectors.

  86. 86.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 17, 2021 at 5:51 pm

    Back from Penzey’s.  I bought a gift box with Bavarian, Sunny Spain, Chili Powder, Tuscan Sunset, Adobo, Jerk, Murals of Flavor, and their Pasta Sprinkle.

  87. 87.

    Suburban Mom

    June 17, 2021 at 5:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I know you asked about blends, but if he doesn’t have smoked paprika that could be a nice addition to his collection.  I find it so flavorful that salt becomes unnecessary.  It comes with different levels of heat, so you’ll want to base any purchase on his preference.   It’s good on fish, and chicken,  and is also nice with some legumes and grilled veggies.

  88. 88.

    Suburban Mom

    June 17, 2021 at 5:53 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:  And I see I’m late.  Those sound like great options.

  89. 89.

    debbie

    June 17, 2021 at 6:13 pm

    @Suburban Mom:

    I love their smoked paprika, but hate how my apartment smells like it for days afterward.

  90. 90.

    J R in WV

    June 17, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    Years ago I visited some more distant cousins in NE rural Ohio… they had a nice place on the edge of town, with rural space north of the home. There were a ton of black squirrels all around their back yard.

    They told us they have had those black squirrels for years now. So cute!

  91. 91.

    Ken

    June 17, 2021 at 6:48 pm

    @cckids: They can be little disease vectors.

    As in black plague, in the western US.

  92. 92.

    karen marie

    June 17, 2021 at 7:15 pm

    @Anoniminous: Pretty much what one would expect from a Trump-endorsed entity.

  93. 93.

    pluky

    June 17, 2021 at 7:23 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Leucastic, not albino.

  94. 94.

    Jenny Howard

    June 17, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    UNHEALTHY FOODS

    Unhealthy foods won’t necessarily cause lasting harm to squirrels but should still be limited.

    High-sugar foods (candy, cookies, granola, sweetened breakfast cereals)
    High-starch foods (pasta, bread, rice, potatoes)
    Salty foods
    Human junk food
    Cashews
    Sunflower seeds
    Dried corn
    Pine nuts
    Healthy nuts include: acorns, pumpkin seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and peanuts (unsalted).
    Leave shells on, it’s good for their teeth.
    Careful with the peanuts, their nutritional value is low and raw they can harbor toxic mold.

  95. 95.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    June 17, 2021 at 8:43 pm

    @kindness:  Where I lived (Bay Area) and live (inland Mendocino) we have tree squirrels who are a mixture of charming and obnoxious. I feed them raw almonds, which they seem to like :-)
    The most interesting thing I know about ground squirrels is that they have been engaged in an evolving chemical battle with rattlesnakes for hundred of years. They are highly resistant to rattlesnake venom, so the snakes become even more deadly, and then the squirrels become resistant to the deadlier venom. It would be more of a problem living with rattlesnakes at our place (as we do), except rattlesnakes are so low-key and avoid trouble at any opportunity. Really. Unless you step on one or corner it, they will leave the area as soon as they realize we are there.

  96. 96.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    June 17, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek: Palo Alto where I grew up has both grey and black squirrels.  The black squirrels’ tails are not as fluffy as the grey squirrels but otherwise, they act the same (running around on the back fences).

  97. 97.

    RAM

    June 17, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    Squirrels always look so innocent. In reality, while your average squirrel has the appearance of a cozy plush happy toy, it also has the brain of a crazed ax murderer.

  98. 98.

    Denali

    June 17, 2021 at 10:31 pm

    @Ommes,

     

    Glad your Dad is doing well. For spices, I would suggest Vindaloo for pork seasoning. It is commonly used in Goa in India.

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