Two items regarding backyard critters:
1. Have you seen a shaved squirrel running around Ann Arbor? My dad got us a squirrel-proof feeder for Christmas, which was working well until the other day - I looked out and a fat squirrel had knocked the thing on the ground and was kind of sitting upright in the feeder and stuffing his face. Tim opened the door and yelled at him, and as the squirrel skittered away we noticed that he has some sort of weird reverse mohawk. I’m not sure if this was natural hair loss or if someone actually took a razor to the poor thing, but it looked unnatural.
2. The temperature is dropping as I type, but if Saturday happens to be warmish, you can anticipate a report on our resident groundhog, whom I refer to fondly as the Otter. This particular critter lives with his family in our backyard and I am completely willing to sacrifice his destruction of our already very rough and ugly backyard for his extraordinary psychic powers. He’s kind of a dumb one - if I open the back door to scold him for munching on our grass, he usually runs his tubby body behind a single stalk of weeds and “hides.” While I won’t be coaxing him out, or bringing Action News over, I’ll let you know what our groundhog says about winter (and you let me know if you have a good name for him.)
9 responses so far ↓
1 Thomas // Jan 29, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I’m going to stick to the tried-and-true formula of - for naming of a groundhog. “Ann Arbor” something would be the obvious choice, but that doesn’t seem to flow very well.
I submit “Washtenaw Wally”.
Also, I have a ritual of watching the movie Groundhog’s Day on, well, groundhog’s day. So many excellent lines in that one.
2 Thomas // Jan 29, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Huh, apparently this eats things in angle brackets. Let me restate that, so the first sentance above makes sense:
I’m going to stick to the tried-and-true formula of “location name”-”cute name” for the name of a groundhog.
3 andrea // Jan 29, 2008 at 8:06 pm
mmmm, thanks for the angle brackets. they were tasty!
4 TeacherPatti // Jan 31, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Speaking of critter families…we have a whole neighborhood of squirrels in our garage. They got into my husband’s sleeping bag, pulled out the stuffing, and made themselves some nice little beds. Our drawers, cabinets, my bike helmet, flower pots, etc. serve as their pantry/refrigerator. I’m sure there is a bathroom somewhere, but I’ve yet to find it. They were here last year too, and I’m almost flattered that they remembered us, came back, and brought their friends.
Almost.
PS: I think that the squirrel mange is something that is naturally occurring…it does look sad though, doesn’t it?
5 timothy // Feb 5, 2008 at 1:23 am
I have a hard time believing that this squirrel’s perfect bodylength-spanning mohawk wasn’t shaved by some neighborhood kids. But I’ll try to snap a picture next time I see him, and you can judge for yourself.
I like “Washtenaw Wally”.
6 TeacherPatti // Feb 5, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Totally get a picture! I want to see. I feel sorry for the poor little thing if it got a “haircut” not found in Nature!
7 egpenet // Feb 15, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Squirrel mange seems to be common this winter. Doesn’t hurt the little guys/gals, but it IS nasty. I undersdtand it is NOT contagious for your pets.
8 Mark // Mar 7, 2008 at 10:42 am
In Savannah, Georgia, as I recall, all their squirrels are relatively hairless. It’s freaky.
9 Mark // Mar 7, 2008 at 10:42 am
Maybe I brought a few back in my suitcase the last time I was there.
Leave a Comment