Tuesday, January 21, 2014

National Squirrel Appreciation Day

I kid you not.  I didn't make it up either.  I was flipping through the pages of the latest edition of National Wildlife Federation magazine and came across a notice that January 21, 2014 is the day to celebrate squirrels.

I don't generally celebrate the presence of squirrels in my garden.  They empty the bird feeders faster than the birds do.  They leave half-eaten fruits all over the yard.  They pilfer my blueberries and dig small holes here and there to hide their stolen goods - and then can't remember where they are.

Squirrel in my backyard cleaning up after those messy birds dropped seed all over the ground


Apparently, January 21st was chosen because someone determined that is the day when their food sources are in lowest supply.  You couldn't tell that in my yard where the local squirrels are enjoying the ripe guavas but, nationally, that's probably a good bet, especially in the year of the "polar vortex."  You can read more about National Squirrel Appreciation Day here and here.  The first picture in the 2nd link is particularly sweet.

He turned his back on me so he can pretend I'm not just a few feet away


I thought about my own reasons for appreciating squirrels.  Here's the best I could come up with:

  1. They're more attractive than possums.
  2. They don't stink up the place like skunks.
  3. They don't eat the neighbor's pets like coyotes.
  4. They don't destroy my plants when they dig in the garden as the raccoons do.
  5. I already had some photos of them on hand.


Can you find any reasons to celebrate squirrels?

12 comments:

  1. They are cute and their acrobatics are fun to watch, (and I even kind of encourage them), but one of these cuties ate my car's wiring harness--a $1200.00 repair. That's NOT cute! In the spirit of the day, maybe I should celebrate the fact that he did NOT go on to eat a hole thru the dash and extract stuffing from the car upholstery to line his nest… :-)

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    1. Sheesh! Who knew that squirrels liked cars? Yours wasn't the only report on that topic, however, Emily. I came across this video of a pet squirrel who likes to drive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxMgzRS4BJU

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  2. they have personality...i raised on one time....love them

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    1. They are cute, Sharon, although I wish they'd leave my blueberries, grapes, persimmons and plums alone. After all, they get all the guavas and bird seed they could want...

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  3. Crickey, certainly proves that there is a designated day for everything....

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    1. So true! A friend sent me a note saying that she didn't understand why squirrels (aka rats with furry tails) should have their own day if rats don't. Then I found a link announcing world rat day. It's in April, BTW.

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  4. There was this but she doesn't give a squat anymore.
    Lucy and the Squirrel

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    1. That's too bad, Eric. Lucy could use the exercise of chasing squirrels.

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  5. My reasons to celebrate the rats with fluffy tails...

    #1 Lila loves to chase them. If she's lethargic on a walk all it takes is a squirrel sighting to get her blood flowing
    #2 they add a jungle sound to the back garden. I can be sitting not the patio working away and all of a sudden it sounds like a herd of elephants is crashing through the border, nope just a couple of squirrels jumping from fence to laurel to privet
    #3 their chatter, I do love the sound when they get all worked up at Lila and need to bawl her out for being n the garden

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    1. I should have acknowledged Pipig's appreciation for them as well, Loree. Ours make the most noise when they chase each other over the roof - it actually spooked me the 1st time I heard them.

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  6. National Squirrel Appreciation Day! Now I've heard it all. It will be Love a Rat Day next. Your first 3 reasons for appreciating them don't apply here as we have no possums, skunks, coyotes or racoons. They eat all the birds' peanuts and when they have finished they come and curse me through the window. I'm just glad they are not bigger or I'd never dare go outside.

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    1. There IS a world rat day, Chloris! Apparently, it's observed April 4th as described here: http://www.worldratday.com/WhatIs.html

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