Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Dreaded Black Squirrel Winter!


Story excerpt: Four (there spelling) every thick fog, Mullis places a big bean in a jar. For every little fog, he puts in a small bean. Once the winter arrives, Mullis removes a bean after every snow and finds out how accurate he was at the end of the season.

This year, Mullis is expecting a heavy winter, with nine big beans and eight small beans in his jar.

“It’s unusual to have more big beans than little beans” he said, noting that his jar usually contains around four big beans and five small beans.

In addition to the increase in snow, Mullis is also predicting an occurrence he has never predicted before.

“It’s what the Indians call a ‘Black Squirrel’ winter or the ‘Winter of Sorrows’,” he said. “My mom’s 86 and this is the first year she’s seen the black squirrel. We’ve all seen them this year. That’s supposed to be the harbinger of something bad.”

Mullis acknowledges that “a lot of people laugh at this,” but noted that many of the people that use to laugh are now the ones asking about the beans in his jar.

Read Dreaded Black Squirrel Winter!

Friday, November 6, 2009

White Squirrel are Unique!


"There's two squirrels, and you get to see them everyday. We walk through, and they're playing together, jumping around playing in trees," said Michael Moor

http://wjz.com/watercooler/white.squirrel.sightings.2.1295408.html

Saturday, October 24, 2009

They’re cute, but squirrels can drive us nuts

Although the title doesn't suggest it, this is kind of informative piece about squirrels habits and biology. Check it out at Cute and Nuts!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

British Squirrels! Squirrel doctor! Battle!


A squirrel doctor is going to save the red squirrel!

In an attempt to save the native red from extinction, Tim Dale will spend the next four years on the frontline of the battle between red and grey squirrels to discover why the deadly squirrel pox virus is destroying red populations and whether they can become immune to it.

Dr. Squirrel story.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Adoption! Humans should be more like dogs/squirrels. Are you listening, China?

If humans could be more like Princess and the squirrel and the little pups, we would all get along a lot better," Corinne Thomas told KTLA. "It doesn't matter what you have on the outside, it's on the inside." Check it China!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Onion does squirrels

You Follow One Kid Home, Rip Out His Eyes And All The Sudden You're A 'Killer' Squirrel

I'm a happy-go-lucky squirrel who loves living the good life of climbing trees and eating nuts. Mostly eating nuts. Man! I can't get enough of them. So tasty. But let's make one thing clear, right here and now: I have never killed anyone.

Look at me! I'm a squirrel, for crying out loud. How am I going to kill a human being? Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible. "Killer Squirrel?" Please. It's just a cruel name made up by lazy journalists who want to move papers.

The truth is that the "attack" in question was merely the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding between myself and a young boy with a bag of peanuts, who remains alive and well to this day. Does he have both eyes? No. Is he blind? Absolutely not! They were able to surgically re-insert the left eye, and he has about 40 percent of his sight in the right one.

So you tell me: How does that make me a killer?


More at onion squirrel.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009

Problem solving with people help

Maybe the Squirrels won't kill us when they take power after all, if we be good to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jByfWOLmjo&feature=player_embedded

Friday, July 17, 2009

Action Figures and Chipmunks

What? "Squirrels have ADD". This is clearly some sort of propaganda by the chipmunk enthusiasts. Then again, these photos were taken without the aid of Photoshop.

Action Figures and Chipmunks -- Chris McVeigh's Wild Kingdom - Asylum.com

Monday, June 29, 2009

Hank Williams' Stuffed Squirrel Band



Hank Williams' Stuffed Squirrel Band, courtesy of some tweedlebopper who presumably went to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Frequently asked questions about squirrels...

Want to know the answer to riveting questions about squirrels?

Check it out: http://www.boobooinc.com/sq/faq.html

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Bald squirrels will regrow fur in weeks ahead

Sunday, March 22, 2009
Donna Miller
Plain Dealer Reporter

Sure as a Northeast Ohio snow shower in April, the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center gets a couple of dozen calls each winter and early spring from concerned people who have seen bald squirrels.

There's no cause for alarm.

The fur loss is caused by a fungus or mites that spread easily from squirrel to squirrel in their winter dens. On frigid days, squirrels seek out the coziest dens and squish together. Most squirrels aren't harmed by the fungal infection, the mites or the fur loss. They will regrow fur in the coming weeks.

And dogs and cats aren't susceptible to the mites that affect squirrels, said Dave Wolf, the nature center's director of wildlife programs. Pets get the condition, known as mange, from two different kinds of mites.

Bobcats:

State wildlife officials found increased evidence of bobcats living in Ohio's southeastern counties, where 65 sightings were confirmed last year. There were 51 verified sightings the year before. The bobcat was found throughout Ohio when settlers arrived, but towns and croplands pushed them out. By 1850, bobcats were gone from Ohio. They didn't begin to move back in until the 1960s. Since 1970, state biologists have verified 255 bobcat sightings in 31 counties, by studying photographs, paw prints, roadkills and reports of them being caught by fur trappers.

Portage APL:

The Portage County Animal Protective League is struggling to keep its doors open. The nonprofit eliminated its executive director position and capped the number of cats it will take in at 40, dogs at 25. Donations are needed as kitten season approaches. In the hopes of shrinking the feline birthrate, the shelter will neuter male cats for $45 and females for $50 on April 2 and 3. Call 330-296-4022 to sign up.

Geauga pets:

The Geauga Humane Society is gearing up for kitten season by asking for donations of Purina cat food. Dry and canned food can be dropped off 24 hours a day at the shelter, 15463 Chillicothe Road (Ohio 306) in Russell Township. The nonprofit group, working with PetFix Northeast Ohio, is also trying to curb breeding by neutering pets for $10. Low-income families can sign up to have a pet neutered Saturday at PetFix's mobile veterinary clinic. Call 440-338-4819. The van will be parked outside the Tractor Supply Co. in Middlefield, where Amish families had 21 pets neutered last month. The van will travel to Amish farms across the county in the coming months.

Petland:

The Humane Society of the United States filed a class action suit Monday against Petland and the Hunte Corp., which helps supply the national chain with puppies. The suit accuses the companies of "conspiring to sell unhealthy puppies to unsuspecting consumers," falsely advertising that the puppies are healthy and come from high-quality breeders. Consumers who say they bought sick, dying or genetically-malformed puppies joined HSUS attorneys in filing the suit in a federal court in Phoenix, Ariz., where one of the plaintiffs lives.

Pet vaccines:

The Summit County health department is offering low-cost vaccinations to dogs and cats from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 2 at the Sagamore Hills Township garage, 11500 W. Valley View Road. No appointment needed. Prices start at $6 for a rabies shot. Get details by calling 330-926-5630.

Easter fund-raisers:

Save Ohio Strays and the Petco at 1052 Williams Reserve Blvd. in Wadsworth are offering Easter-themed pet photos and a pet-friendly Easter egg hunt from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Framed photos are $7. The nonprofit group has rescued 1,100 pets in four years. Get details at saveohiostrays.org or 440-567-3585.

The Middleburg Heights Animal Foundation will raise money by offering $8 photographs of pets with the Easter bunny from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 4 at the VCA Midpark Animal Hospital, 6611 Smith Road in Middleburg Heights. The nonprofit group rescues pets scheduled for euthanasia from a dozen pounds across Northeast Ohio. Reach the group at mhaf.com.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A Bit Nutty

Call Center | Scotland

Me: “Thank you for calling ****. What is the problem with your telephone line?”

Customer: “The squirrels.”

Me: “The–what? Sorry?”

Customer: “Those damn squirrels are watching me.”

Me: “Uh…do you have a problem with your telephone line?”

Customer: “Yes, the squirrels have nested on it, and they watch me while I’m sleeping…”

Me: “I’m sure they’re not.”

Customer: “You calling me a liar?”

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Squirrels have been blamed for setting a former attorney general's house on fire.


Squirrel with match

Py-rodent-technics? How a fire-starting squirrel might look

The rodents are believed to have gnawed their way through cables, sparking the blaze at the property belonging to former MP Lord Mayhew on Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters battled the flames for almost two hours at the two-storey cottage in Goudhurst, near Cranbrook, Kent, currently inhabited by tenants.

Lord Mayhew told the Kent Messenger: "The fire broke out in a void behind an airing cupboard and the most probable cause was squirrels chewing through cables."

A spokeswoman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service estimated about 90% of the first floor and roof void had been "severely damaged".

"The rest of the property was damaged by smoke and heat," she said.

But Lord Mayhew said he was confident restoration of the 1890s property is possible.

Four rescue crews attended the fire at 12.39pm.

No one was injured in the blaze.

The spokeswoman added that the cause of the fire was as yet unknown but squirrels chewing wires, and the wires igniting, "does sometimes happen".

Lord Mayhew was MP for Tunbridge Wells between 1974 and 1997 and Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland from 1987 to 1992.

He was knighted in 1983 and became a member of the House of Lords in 1997.