Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Did Ya Know?

Hey All,

Did you know that a squirrel was a rodent? No, I didn't know! Ok so I just thought they were these little cute critters that I watch everyday playing in my yard chasing each other from tree to tree. Did you know that pocupines, prairie dogs, beavers, woodchucks, and chipmunks are also rodents? Yeah can you totally believe that? They are not listed as little cute critters they are rodents.

Did you know that a squirrel just isn't a squirrel? I mean there are gray squirrels, red squirrels, fox squirrels, Douglas' squirrels, Abert's squirrels, kaibab squirrels, flying squirrels, rock squirrels, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and golden -manteled ground squirrels. Oh my so many to keep up with!

Did you know that a gray squirrel can run on the ground more than 12 miles per hour, and up or down a tree almost as fast? Or a gray squirrel's top front teeth grow about 6 inches a year so it has to chew to keep them worn down? I didn't know!!!!

Did you know that the besides nuts, berries, seeds, mushrooms, and corn that the gray squirrel likes to eat caterpillars? YUCK! And that its favorite spring treat is the sweet icicles of sap from frozen maple trees? Geez the poor little guys that live around us don't get to have that it's not that often it gets cold enough here.

That is what we have learned about squirrels so far. We have the gray squirrel here that we watch daily playing around us. That our cats love to watch and try to catch. That our dogs love to chase up the trees. Oh yes it's an exciting time around here with the squirrels.

What kind of squirrel do you have in your area? Oh and by the way if you should happen to have the Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel in your area you need to watch it carefully!!! I'm telling you people if you have that squirrel you better watch it because legend has it that where the golden-mantled ground squirrel plays there is gold to be found.

Take Care :)

5 comments:

The Southern Mom said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Sounds like someone has been busy researching for the science project! LOL...I probably learned more from those projects than my kids did!

BlueRidge Boomer said...

Don't forget the black squirrel and the flying squirrel.....both are up here on the mountain...

Enjoy....LindaMay

Paula said...

I'm not sure what kind of squirrels we have, Vickie- our dog sees to it we don't get a close enough look! LOL

Marlene McGarrity said...

I love animals, but not squirrels.

They run across the garage roofs in our area and every house that has a dog joins in the singing orchestra.

But I really don't like them because when I was a child they would always find a way into our summer cottage in Long Island. Every year, I looked forward to going to Long Island, but not to seeing what the squirrels did. The squirrels would dig and get in to the house through the crawl space under it. Then they would go into the tiny bedroom and claw their way into the back of the dresser. In the dresser they would give birth to their babies and it would create such mess. UGGGGHHH just thinking about it gives me the heebeejeebies.

The bungalow is still owned by my parents, but the cellar has been dug out and many renovations have been done so the squirrels no longer use it as their nesting place.