Oh, it's fat squirrel season! My favorite time of year...I can't stop saying to H. "ohhhhh...look how FAT that one is." Totally inappropriate if talking about people. Totally appropriate if talking about squirrels. Look at this fattie who was watching me in the backyard today:
And of course, this is Princess Squirrellerina, Queen of the Backyard, and aka my squirrel (or should I say I am her human) aka Squirrelly, the baby squirrel we rescued from the sidewalk 4 long years ago.
I believe the fattie squirrel here is her baby..I've noticed that ""juvenile" squirrels in their first year tend to get really fat before their first winter. Squirrelly herself pudged out and was almost, hum, should I say, obese?? But now, she puts on a little weight but as you can see, nothing compared to her baby! At 4 1/2 years old she's an old hand (or paw) at making it through the winter.
Here's a sad, terrible fact though..most juvenile squirrels don't make it through their first winter. They starve to death. The second cause of death of a squirrel is human-related from cars to pesticides to just plain cruelty. City squirrels often fare better than country squirrels but either way, if you like squirrels, feed 'em! They will appreciate it..and you can consider them your own army of warm furry composters--they just love apple corns, corn cobs, etc.
Today I put out pumpkin and squash seeds from a bunch of stuff I roasted yesterday. This guy watched me put it next to the composter. He thought I just missed the composter but silly squirrel, I left it there for you!
Now in an ungraceful change of topic, let's talk about cupcakes. Seriously, squirrels and cupcakes in one post..I'm in heaven! Before T-day I purchased "Pudge-free Holiday Recipes" from Lindsay at the Happy Herbivore. She is a seriously talented veganista! Okay, I admit her "Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes" were what inspired me to buy and were the first recipe I tried..wow, they did not disappoint. The amazing thing is that they are made with whole wheat pastry flour and applesauce to replace the fat yet so yummy. Imagine yummy chocolate cupcakey-ness with gooey chocolate chips slathered in a frosting that you would swear was creamy candy canes..soooooooo good! Yet almost guilt-free. My brain is confused now but my mouth is happy so whatever! My cuppycakies turned out a little different than Lindsay's because I ground up the white peppermints that I got from Whole Foods and "sprinkled" the cakes with a "snow" of peppermint. However, in hindsight, I should have just frosted them right before eating because the weather must have changed suddenly and my "snow" changed to "slush." So they weren't as pretty upon eating but just as tasty.
5 comments:
I grew up hand-feeding the squirrels who lived in the small woods near our yard. Every year the mum & at least one youngster would hang out and scratch on our window or patio door for us to feed them. They are still there, though I'm sure it's grandchildren and great-grandchildren now!
Those cuppers look great!
During family camping trips when I was younger I also fed the odd squirrel! It's pretty fascinating to do when you are young that's for sure. That "fattie squirrel" is so round it looks hilarious :)
I love hearing other people's squirrel stories--thanks for sharing! Shelly--wow! I've had to work on a "technique" for hand feeding..squirrels have really bad nearsight so they can't tell human fingers from nuts sometimes.
OMG, I can't believe that you have all those cuties in your backyard. Can I move in with you? And please, don't feed them cupcakes, feed them to me instead ;)
I think you are feeding them cupcakes. Secretly, of course. They're so fat! Our squirrels raid the bird feeder.
Wonderful looking cupcakes!
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