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MaryM
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There has been an interesting spontaneous discussion about these fuzzy tailed animals in this Picture Book Discovery thread . The discussion has me wondering just how popular or unpopular these creatures are in general. Thought it would be a fun poll.
I've posted my thoughts there, but so as not to bias the poll, I won't comment right now  .
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We found that the actual options we want to offer won't fit. This is the full intended version of the poll:
Quote:
Squirrels: Do you...
A) Love them madly, madly, madly.
B) Find them pretty cute.
C) Think little about them one way or the other.
D) View them as a nuisance just like any other rodent. Afterall, they are just rats with fluffier tales.
E) Despise them as the bane of your birdfeeder, garden, and anything else they've decided to steal, bite, or otherwise mutilate. |
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Mary M. in Denver
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amyable
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I voted "cute" but really it's more like "Hey, look at the cute squirrel! HEY YOU, GET OFF OUR BIRDFEEDER BEFORE I THROW SOMETHING AT YOU!"  They're a mixed blessing around here.
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lapazfarm
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Truly, madly deeply. Just like pretty much every other creature I've come across.
And really, how could you not love this?
 SQUIRRELS
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Theresa
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MaryM
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| Posted: Sept 27 2010 at 8:52pm | IP Logged
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amyable wrote:
| I voted "cute" but really it's more like "Hey, look at the cute squirrel! HEY YOU, GET OFF OUR BIRDFEEDER BEFORE I THROW SOMETHING AT YOU!" |
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Uhmmmm.....I actually do throw things at them and run out of the house screaming at them. That's a lovely picture, huh? My kids think so, too. 
lapazfarm wrote:
And really, how could you not love this?
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Theresa, that picture is totally not fair.....
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Mary M. in Denver
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lapazfarm
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MaryM wrote:
Theresa, that picture is totally not fair..... |
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I never claimed to play fair!LOL!
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MaryM
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Well neither did I. 
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Mary M. in Denver
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Willa
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This is why I have to say I love them, nuisances or not ... I have 3 grandsquirrels right now -- my son found 3 northern flying squirrels out of their nest and I have been helping to foster them.
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lapazfarm
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MaryM wrote:
Well neither did I. |
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Bahahaha!!!
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JennGM
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MaryM wrote:
amyable wrote:
| I voted "cute" but really it's more like "Hey, look at the cute squirrel! HEY YOU, GET OFF OUR BIRDFEEDER BEFORE I THROW SOMETHING AT YOU!" |
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Uhmmmm.....I actually do throw things at them and run out of the house screaming at them. That's a lovely picture, huh? My kids thinks so, too. |
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LOL! That's us! It's a race to run out and scream at them. But my boys bark at them to scare them away. There's always a "Let me, let me do it!"
I think it might be genetic. I remember being an adult living at home eating my breakfast one more morning when my dad came tearing through the kitchen in his robe holding a wiffle bat. I wasn't sure where that was going (I did so want to eat my breakfast) until he opened the sliding door to chase after the squirrels.
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JodieLyn
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I'm happy to be in the think little one way or the other category..
That wasn't always the case though.. we have some rather "saucy" squirrels living in the big trees "next door".. and the squirrels would run up and down the power lines just to get the dogs to bark at them.. it was very obviously done to rile up the dogs.
Now we have no dogs so the squirrels don't bother me.
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lapazfarm
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JodieLyn wrote:
That wasn't always the case though.. we have some rather "saucy" squirrels living in the big trees "next door".. and the squirrels would run up and down the power lines just to get the dogs to bark at them.. it was very obviously done to rile up the dogs.
Now we have no dogs so the squirrels don't bother me. |
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LOL! That reminds me, years ago we had a little Jack Russell and the squirrels would taunt her terribly. They'd get on the clothes line just out of her reach and throw acorns on her head!
CRACKED ME UP!!!!
Squirrels!
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Carole N.
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I think squirrels are pretty cute, but I am with Amy--I don't want them hanging on my birdfeeders. We used to put feeders out for them in the backyard. They were so cute as they romped around the yard. Over here, we don't seem to have any squirrels in our garden, so I guess I miss them a bit!
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Becky Parker
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I voted that I find them pretty cute. I no longer put bird feeders out, but it wasn't the squirrels bothering them so much as the raccoons, opossums and even wild turkeys in the winter. I would have to refill the feeder every day and it was getting ridiculous. So now we just watch the squirrels play "tag" up and down the trees and find them fun. We also have several different kinds around here so the kids enjoy identifying them, just like they do the birds.
I love the picture-duel above!
You are "quick witted" with your picture Mary!
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Mary G
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I don't even care if they hang on the birdfeeder ... all's fair in love and war ... it's when they came in the house in Denver that really creeped me out (especially when they ate holes thru the screens not a day AFTER Rick had replaced the screens) ... oh, and garbage cans ... forget about it! They chewed thru the bottom corner as well as the top corner of one of those heavy, wheeled, industrial garbage cans (only way we culd keep them out was to buy metal cans ... which the garbage men enjoyed tossing around and seeing who could get them to land upright -- surprising how many times they couldn't!)
Sorry, squirrels are right up there with horseflies, mosquitoes and no-see-ums ... WHY did God create em!
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Christine
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If they did not cause so much damage, I would like them. I mentioned in another thread about their chewing through our garbage/recycle can lids. I didn't mention that they caused $5000 worth of damage in a friend's attic. They also caused major damage in a neighbor's attic (he has taken to shooting them), and they keep chewing a hole in the wood of a friend's house in an attempt to get inside. The latter friend has replaced and repainted the wood a couple of times already. I have seen them jumping on our flower baskets to access our deck...I may need to permanently remove my flower baskets in order to prevent them from causing damage to our house.
Final analysis: No matter how cute they are, squirrels are rodents that cause major damage to homes and property, costing homeowners money that they can ill afford to spend.
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JennGM
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Willa, that is the neatest!
MaryG, for nature club 2 years ago we made little squirrel or bird food out of bagels, peanut butter and sunflower seeds. I put the sunflower seeds out on my screened porch and the squirrels went MAD! They ripped holes in the screen, climbed up the deck in all sorts of way, chewed into the wood, just horrible, horrible destruction. Even after I removed all traces of the seeds, they kept coming back. It was my fault for tempting them, but...
Fast forward to last year, when we planted a few corn and sunflowers as an experiment. Those squirrels again went nuts, climbed the 10 foot sunflower to eat the seeds, cut down the 5 foot head to drag it to their nest, and cut down the corn stalks...all before anything was even ripe.
Oh, my scene with my dad I forgot to mention he was just chasing them...no hitting involved. It just was a funny sight in the morning. He saw them through his bathroom window, but we had no idea what was going on.
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Trinity
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What a sweet photo Willa!
Squirrels have long been one of my favorite animals. We adore these little guys in our home. Can you believe they are made almost entirely of wool?
They were made by the talented Katie at The Wool Food Market.
I have always enjoyed my father's attempts to keep squirrels away from his birdfeeder. I remember when I was younger he thought he had finally found a way to keep them off the feeder, but they still managed to get up there. He didn't believe me until I showed him a picture of the theives in action.
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Paula in MN
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Christine wrote:
Final analysis: No matter how cute they are, squirrels are rodents that cause major damage to homes and property, costing homeowners money that they can ill afford to spend. |
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Amen!
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stacykay
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I have to admit, I love them! We have five towering oaks in our yard, and well, where there are acorns, there will be squirrels! I love waking up to their chatter as they run up and down the tree outside our bedroom window. (Not to mention the sounds of the acorns falling off the tree, onto our roof, and roll, roll, roll, until they either clang into the gutter or make it off the roof onto the ground-we haven't been sleeping well the past two weeks!)
They make us laugh! Our neighbors got new sod, and until it was "placed", they were burying acorns in the sod rolls.
They are cute! We have one blonde squirrel who has been dubbed "Marilyn." We have Stumpy, Nutty, and Zip.
They keep us entertained! They have fights with the chipmunks, run, jump, flip, "fly" from tree to tree, walk the tightrope, play on the boys' play structure, climbing into our jack-o-lanterns...
They've entered our home! Down the chimney and into our family room. It was a cause of great excitement! Dh laughed at me from the comfort of his office, as we frantically tried to shoo Zip out the doorwall.
And I have a wonderful picture of a fluffy beautiful squirrel my dad drew for us, hanging on my family room wall.
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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We put Vaseline on our bird feeder pole last year to deter them, and it was fun to watch them try to climb up and either spring off in horror and frantically wipe their paws on the grass, or, when it was below freezing out, slide down the pole repeatedly like little firemen.
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Are You NUTS about Squirrels, or NOT?
