I was about to shut down and go to bed and thus checked to make sure that the cams were working.
That’s when I saw it.
At first, I thought it might be an immature gray squirrel. Nope.
Meet Glaucomys sabrinus.
This critter is a Flying Squirrel.
I hate squirrels. I have hated them ever since the vermin tried to invade a house I lived in once upon a time. And there are other very good reasons to dislike squirrels.
But since this one flies, or at least glides, it was permitted to remain for a while.
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If a flying squirrel is around dont be surprised to have a moose visit you.
Squirrels are so cute! I would rather have a squirrel in my house than a bird.
Don’t cut him any slack, Father. His kind are just as invasive as the common gray or black squirrels. A rodent is a rodent even if it flies.
He is so cute.
After we ate, we knocked on your door but there wasn’t any answer. We were looking for z-chat.
~~Bullwinkle
One of my good friends has a license to breed flying squirrels! They’re really cute. I wonder if that flying squirrel is an escaped pet…
That looks more like a rat with big eyes….
Tina in Ashburn, that’s a funny post you got there!
Had to bring Bullwinkle in….hey, I loved “Rocky and Bullwinkle’ as a kid….
a.k.a. Rocket J. Squirrel. Soooo cute!
Last week, three baby squirrels, most likely orphans, did their own version of Are You My Mother? with our two-year-old. They followed him all over the yard and pounced on him several times. We managed to capture the little critters in a bucket and release them in a nearby lot. I’m not a fan of squirrels, but they were awful cute.
If rodents are an issue, a small terrier usually does the trick. I had an Australian Terrier that killed all the mice in the farmhouse, all the voles in the yard, and then took out a couple of squirrels (the plain gray kind) and brought them in the doggie door and set them carefully at the end of the bed. I think he was heartbroken when I threw them in the trash rather than on the grill.
Could this be the long lost relative of Basil the treadmilling rodent?
Squirrels may be cute, but they sure make a mess with their nests. I loathe cleaning up after them every summer when they nest in our boat.
I saw a documentary about squirrels. There was a lady who said, “they’re tree rats, that’s what they are”
Ellen: I believe “tree rat” is how one says “squirrel” in Chinese.
Hate is such a negative word…
‘Eat’ is a much better word… [ROFL!]
Wow Father, that is awesome!
What a lovely little creature.
My rule is if they (so called pests) don’t bother me, I don’t bother them.
They are all Gods’ Creatures and so perfectly made.
(Could this flying variety of squirrel possibly be a squirrel ‘angel’ ?
;0) …)
To my eyes it resembles Basil the ‘hamster’ more than a squiral
I can’t bring myself to hate squirrels, even the ones that startle me when they scrape around inside the rectory walls. They are just too cute!
We saw our first flying squirrel of the season this last weekend. While I am not fond of gray squirrels, these little guys are so very pretty and fun to watch.
Note to all, this is what happens when you appear unannounced. You sleep on the porch.
r.j. scirus: Thanks for that helpful reminder.
Now I am confused. Is the flying “sciurus” writing these comments himself? Oh tempora!
Strongly recommend NOT handling squirrels or any other wild rodents, nor letting your children. They can carry fleas with diseases similar to bubonic plague, particularly in the southwester part of this country. Just sayin’.
Red squirrels are really bad news in a home or structure- chew wires in the wall etc. Haven’t had a problem around Chez GTW since “inheriting” a stray cat Son #3 brought back from TX. Loves people but a skilled hunter.
Father, when I get home on Friday I shall find you some squirrel recipes.
Or, since it’s Lent, should I leave it until Saturday?
Close, Fr. Z. The word in Chinese is “song1 shu3”, meaning “pine rat” or “pine mouse”. Sadly there are none to be found anywhere in the country (that I have ever seen), but up in Northeast China there are probably some still scampering around.
Squirrels should never be allowed to be loose indoors. They can eat through electrical insulation. If two pieces of insulation in close proximity are damaged in an energized circuit, a current can jump from one wire to the other. The arc created is hotter than the surface of the sun.
Best ideas for squirrels:
http://www.woodybobs.com/
The big reason to avoid squirrels is that they can carry rabies.
Of course, if a flying squirrel eats through electrical wires, it will quickly become a frying squirrel.
I believe “tree rat” is how one says “squirrel” in Chinese.
I had a friend at MIT that called them “rodents with bushy tails.” There were certain times of year when it was almost impossible to eat lunch outdoors in certain spots on campus, as the squirrels were insanely aggressive in pursuit of falling lunch scraps.
We have a multi-generational family of pigeons that have taken up permanent residence in our porch eaves, with new family members hatching several times a year. I would happily trade you one squirrel for this brood of fecund flying pests.
I concur with benedetta, 01:30. It flew in to check up on Basil, the seductive hampster. As you’re not too far from Wisconsin, my suspicious mind suggests the possibility of a union organizing attempt. Everyone, keep Basil well fed!
Looks like he is going to be a regular visitor. Whatever is in that feeder, he likes!!!
A flying squirrel? Hokey smokes, Fr. Z!
Actually squirrels do not get rabies because of their DNA. Neither do lagomorphs for the same reason. The fleas are a problem though. That is why they are skinned completely in the field.
I like squirrels now. There was a time when I loved squirrels. A friend of mine lived on a farm and her husband found a baby squirrel and brought it home. They raised it in their house. It lived in a clock on their mantel above the fireplace. Cute little thing. Would sit on your shoulder and eat out of your hand.
Then one day, it was on my shoulder and took a nose dive down my shirt and began running in circles around my torso. I can close my eyes 30 years later and still feel those little claws scrabbling on my skin. At that point blind panic took over and the only thought in my head was “It’s a rat! It’s a rat!” I managed to extricate the squirrel who went flying across the room and I never touched it, or any other squirrel, again.
Back in the early 1970s my older sister and a cousin, who were [and are] the same age, rented their first apartment in the University section of an Upstate NY city. It had a very cool-looking tower.
A black squirrel, which is very common in that city for some reason, got into the cousin’s bedroom and shredded all her magazines, making a nest out of the shreds! I never forgot that!
It pays never to have a window open where squirrels-of any color, gray, black or red-can get in!
Over the course of twenty years, DH and I trapped and relocated squirrels from our front yard (they ate pounds of bird feed) to an undeveloped area about a mile from our house. We stopped counting when we hit more than 200. They finally wore us out, but we gave it a valiant try.
P.S. There is nothing angrier and more prone to bite than a trapped squirrel, so get heavy gloves and rig your trap so that you can stand well away from the cage when you release it.
P.P.S. Stand even farther away if you have trapped a skunk by mistake.