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I was sitting in bed one day, writing in my notebook, and looked out the window to see a squirrel diving into the snow. It would disappear fully for a moment and then emerge nibbling on whatever it had found below. The squirrel’s activity was fun to watch.
When I was outside the other day, I looked closely at the yard and realized that we had holes in the snow all over the place. On the surface of the snow near most of the holes, I found acorn shells, leaves and dirt. The squirrels had had a field day digging up buried acorns, chowing down on them, and leaving midden piles behind. I walked through the yard taking pictures of the more interesting ones and counting holes. (Research for the blog, you know!) There were over 50 around our property, most of them near the bases of our oak trees. I’m glad our yard could serve as a smorgasbord for the squirrels.
Squirrel midden pile in the snow, Minnesota, January 2010. See all the footprints?
Squirrel midden piles in the snow next to the house, January 2010, Minnesota.
Squirrels sure know how to leave a mess, don't they? This is a clear shot of the acorn shells. January 2010, Minnesota.
Two more squirrel middens in the snow at the Warner household. January 2010, Minnesota.
Sometimes the squirrels come up empty-handed. Look, no middens. January 2010, Minnesota.
I work at a community college and we have a abundance of squirrels on our campus. There is one in particular that we watch for every year. Somehow he has lost most of his tail, and while he is slightly more plump than the others, he doesn’t let it hold him back. He climbs trees, but doesn’t jump about like the others. He is a joy to watch!
Hi, Angelia – I love animals that become regulars. There are two woodpeckers who regularly visit the courtyard where I work. One is a pileated; the other is a smaller red-bellied woodpecker (that has a red head, actually). My desk looks out on the courtyard, so I often get to see them when they fly in.
Thanks for telling me about your squirrel w/the missing tail.
Thanks for this blog Mary!
My son and i just got back from a winter snowshoe in the woods. We were looking for animal tracks, but most notably ran across at least 30 holes in a 5 acre wood. After thinking about it for a while, and no distinguishable tracks on the icy surface, i concluded it just must have been squirrels!
We have between 2 and 3 feet of snowpack here in the northeast this year… incredibly, these holes were that deep! How the squirrels tunneled all that way, well, i guess they are very tenacious bounty hunters! and excellent autumn planners as well! They must be very intelligent animals…
Cant wait to show your pics to my son!
Thanks again!
Glad you liked the pics, animal. It is amazing what animals can do. We got a dog this past fall and he can dig a tremendous hole with just a few strokes of his paws. His webbed toes help.