Appreciating Squirrels

Before the creation of mankind and the natural world, a tall and mighty ash tree grew at the center of the world with branches reaching all over heaven and earth and linking the two worlds. But its inhabitants were constantly threatening the tree's life - the eagle's powerful wings created the wind and serpents below gnawed at its roots. Ratatosk, the squirrel, connected these two opposing forces, running up and down the trunk carrying insults between the eagle and snakes.

As we see from this ancient Germanic creation myth, squirrels were hyperactive little trouble makers since before the dawn of time. Still, despite their mischief making, the industrious rodents are popular characters in European and Native American folk tales. For all their bad behavior, squirrels remain the world's most popular rodent. If you're particularly susceptible to the little devils' charms, you might want to drop by the squirrel nut site to test yourself for squirrel addiction.

Some of the more serious warning signs of squirrel nuttiness listed there include:

*You drive out of state just to see Twiggy, the water-skiing squirrel.

*Your favorite cereal has the portrait of one on the box.

*You have a collection of more than 900 squirrel reproductions. . .

*Every card you send out for every occasion has a squirrel somewhere on it.

*You get mail addressed to "The Squirrel Lady" with no name or address, just a city and it GETS DELIVERED!

*You know the word "squirrel" in at least 50 languages.

Of course, this is an extreme case. Most squirrel fans have a little more restraint. We're able to masquerade as normal people most of the time while in public. But at home, we may occasionally find ourselves trying to think of ways to keep those pesky birds away from our squirrel feeders. Or worry - usually around 5 in the morning when the little varmints are scampering and chattering above the bedroom ceiling - that the squirrels who've taken over our attics won't survive the winter if we relocate them after they've spent weeks storing food.

The extensive squirrel family comprises 50 genera and some 260 species ranging from mouse-sized to giant cat-sized species, who make themselves at home in every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Different body forms are adapted to habitats from semi-arid deserts and prairies to alpine regions, tropical forests, parks, and of course, your gardens and homes. The typical squirrel lives primarily in trees, at various levels of the forest canopy, while their ground squirrel cousins, the marmots and prairie dogs, prefer cozy underground digs. Nocturnal flying squirrels have grown a bat-like skin flap between their legs and body that allows them to glide gracefully through the forests.

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