May 16

rodent rummaging in refuse pile

Ah that little rascal. He’s been getting in to my garage for some time now, but this is the first time I saw him. I’m gonna make sure I keep my garage door closed.  Yeah, I know they’re cute and fun to watch, but they need to stay outside.

I often wonder how squirrels got in to prairie towns such as Wilton.  Squirrels’ natural habitat is trees and Wilton is far from any treed area such as the Missouri River.  It’s probably 7 miles from the river.  So what did it take to get a squirrel couple to move to Wilton across 7 miles of prairie to establish a family here and to spread their offspring through the community?

Come to think of it, are there squirrels in every town?  Is there any town anywhere that does not have squirrels?

January 16

Squirrel helps self to bird food

One of the winter traditions in North Dakota is to care for the wildlife.  Many homes have bird feeders, and if they’re not strategically placed, they can become squirrel feeders.

I hung this feeder mid-winter, perhaps too late for most birds.  Still, the feed kept disappearing even if I didn’t see any birds. Then one day, I saw the culprit.  An agil squirrel had been doing gymnastics to get a crunchy meal.