Six Stupendous Reasons to Appreciate the Heck Out of Squirrels

[vienna]

There's a park in the San Fernando Valley area of LA where the number of squirrels is almost as dense as the number in the video. I have seen dozens and dozens of squirrels just running around the park on a summer's day and marveled at how so many of them could manage to survive in such a fairly small area; there must be a lot of park patrons slipping them bits of JIF...


The video also brought to mind a situation I experienced about 15 years ago. I had had some major surgery and when it came time to take out the surgical staples and some stitches, I had to go to the surgeon's office, which was located in an office park, one of those complexes where low-rise office buildings are scattered around landscaped areas somewhat akin to a college campus. The buildings were numbered in a rather confusing system and I got lost, since this was the first time I had been there; the last time I had seen the surgeon was in the hospital. I decided to ask for directions and approached the doors of a nearby building; as I got near to the door, I became aware of several squirrels suddenly appearing behind me; as I got to the door, the number of squirrels had grown to about a dozen or so; I quickly opened the and slipped in shutting the door behind me; the squirrels pressed up against the door and the surrounding plate glass windows; there was a reception desk in the lobby and I hobbled over with my cane and, pointing at the squirrels, asked the young lady if there was any reason for concern (I had vague visions of furry version of Hitchcock's The Birds); she laughed and said, since so many of the people in her building had taken to giving the squirrels treats on their way in and out of the building, the critters had taken the assumption any person going in or out of the doors was 'feeding time'; she got up from her desk, walked to the door and opened it; the squirrels scampered in, made a beeline for a low table in the waiting area that had bowls of nuts and snacks, loaded up on their loot and scampered out the door...







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[donna52522]

According to my mothers dog, they're very fun to chase, and tasty at times.

[Aktungbby]

DONNA! your squirrely Bilgerat amigos miss you!

[fireftr18]

Donna, you're back! Certainly missed you. Glad to see you!