Squirrel Appreciation Day! (Late, yet again...) by dmfalk < Journal

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LupineAssassin

12 years, 2 months ago

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7_ZwgoeJM

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ LupineAssassin

Ah, from the first season of "Animaniacs" after moving from what was then, The WB (which wasn't available to me at the time).... Abbott & Costello lives! :D The skit's cliched, but still works, after more than 75 years! :D My love for wordplay comes from this routine. :)

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 2 months ago

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Nutty Narrows.

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Beautiful! :)

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 2 months ago

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Edited 12 years, 2 months ago by Owner

@ dmfalk

My dad grew up in Longview and my mother down the road in Kalama. As for me, I never got to see the bridge until 2000, as I had grown up in western Colorado where the closest things we got to squirrels were the prairie dogs. And, compared to tree squirrels, prairie dogs seem downright dour at times. :o

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

*nodnod* Squirrels are rare in my neighbourhood, despite that we have possums, skunks and coons by the denful. :P They do flitter about in the surrounding rural areas, but with my poor vision, I'd never see them, anyway. I have only seen a few squirrels here and there between Eureka and Sacramento- The closest I ever got to a squirrel was ten feet from our car, just outside of a rest area one day. Cute little brown squirrel. :)

I envy

kuro-risu , who owns a pet squirrel-- This is her Flickr page.

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ dmfalk

They're uncommon in mine, although I have seen a few. Raccoons, opossums, and nutria are much more common. Then again, they may be scampering on by when I'm not looking. Usually, one first hears them or sees them moving as they aren't very subtle at times.

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

I had a neighbour who lived next door (for 50 years, until she died in 1990) to me who said we used to get foxes and squirrels....

The few times I've seen squirrels (grey squirrels in Sacramento; brown squirrels at a rest stop on 299), they've been very quiet.

Additionally, when I was at the Trees of Mystery, near Klamath on 101, while in line for paying our admissions, we watched a pair of chipmunks chasing each other around, most likely for mating... :) (The skyway cable system in Amy's world is inspired by the "Sky Trail" system at the Trees of Mystery, which you can see right on their main page.)

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ dmfalk

No foxes here, although I did see a few in the Denver Metro area when I lived there. (Plus one skunk, a few prairie dogs, and yes, plenty of tree squirrels. One of my cats once got a squirrel trapped in the ledge of a neighbor's window. The squirrel complained about it. A lot.) Rodent-wise, a few rest stops along I-70 have had little chipmunk-type rodents scampering about, feeding off food foolishly left out by travelers.

Arguably, I'm more sensitive to sights and sounds than other people are. Things that other people will miss, I can notice. A squirrel dropping pinecone seeds while eating overhead or a raccoon wandering past the window in the darkening evening can attract my attention when they might escape other people. Therefore, in a hypothetical situation in which you and I were in an area with squirrels, I would be more likely to notice one and direct your attention to it (possibly with some frustration as you try to figure out where I'm indicating).

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Quite possibly, since I'm very poor-sighted... :P I hear better than I can see, but considering I have chronic tinnitus, it's far from great.

I did forget to mention that in '05, while my mum & I were in Disney World (she's Disney-obsessed in the same way I'm squirrel-obsessed :P ), that while at the Disney Studios Park, just outside the Star Tours (Star Wars) ride, a grey squirrel did reach up to my hand- The closest I've been to any squirrel.

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

I've got a bit of tinnitus too, but it's not very bad nor cuts too deeply into my hearing.  I still have sharper hearing than most people and can feel pain when exposed to loud noises or even someone talking normally when it's sudden.

(Did you know tinnitus is all in our heads?  Scientists have found out that it's a result of our brains overcompensating for slightly reduced hearing.  They found this out when they discovered that surgically removing/cutting the nerves to the ears didn't do a thing for stopping tinnitus.  In other words, deaf people get tinnitus too.)

The closest I've come to a (live) squirrel that I can recall was a time in the Denver City Park back in my college year '93-'94.  A squirrel came up almost to my shoe, probably looking for a handout.  I didn't give it one as I had nothing to give it, nor was I going to touch it.  Squirrels have powerful bites after all, and I didn't want to risk getting something like rabies.  That's not to say I didn't like the fuzzy thing, of course, but I suspect it would have objected to my trying to touch it no matter how friendly it was acting.

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Sometimes it's in the head... In my case, it's really in the ears! :P One time, I actually put a microphone up to my right ear (which has it loudest) and actually recorded it coming from my ear... :P That was 20 years ago, though, when I did that experiment.

Sometimes it gets painfully loud, and can cause me to be very sensitive to the point of pain to some sounds, much as you. At its worst, though, the sounds become completely distorted, and it makes it hard to understand, sometimes. :(

Squirrels aren't a common source of rabies, but skunks, foxes and raccoons are. As for whether they would want to be touched, they're more-or-less like most creatures- Depends on whether they're used to it/grown up with it. Those squirrels who are used to human company love that kind of attention.

kuro-risu 's pet squirrel loves being petted, as per her videos on YouTube and Flickr.

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

Interesting. I guess the ocean left its roar in your ears, and you would like it to take it back? I'd guess your problem might partly be because of how your blood is flowing through your skull in the vicinity of your ears, but I'm not a doctor so I'm probably wrong.

True about animals enjoying being petted. However, I felt it was best to err on the safe side as the squirrel was a wild one. If you saw an unfamiliar giant with hands bigger than your head reaching for you, wouldn't you be a little bit scared?

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Keep in mind I suffer from birth defects related to congenital rubella syndrome, which do include, amongst other things, ears, eyes, heart, brain, and motor functions... :P The tinnitus is part of that. :P

As for squirrels & petting- Yep.

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

True enough, although it is possible to mitigate those effects if you know how. But the knowing how is the tricky part.

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Fans... Indistinct sounds from my iPod when I'm not near a fan.... Naturally, my mother still doesn't understand why I need such noises, even after 4+ decades... :P

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

As long as it works, that's the important thing.

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Very much so!

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 2 months ago

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Edited 12 years, 2 months ago by Owner

@ dmfalk

What On Earth? Maybe you need this shirt.

What? You already knew I was Nuts.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Simone hangs around.

Am I a sadist for showing these squirrel-related products to those with low incomes? Maybe I take after my cats too much. :\

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

A wish-list, my friend... A wish-list. ;)

I had a story idea with a squirrel that pokes out from her tree in that exact position... Because of how busy it's been lately, that idea got shelved... :P

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

Those wishlists sure can get long, can't they? :(

Not shelved, squirreled away for another day. ;p

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

;D

d.m.f.

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

I think of Helia when I see this one.... :)

But I like the philosophy in this one.... ;)

If only these came in sweatshirts... :P

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

I don't know. I'd have to think about that one.

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

"I think, therefore I.... Oh, NUTS!"

;)

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ dmfalk

And so the German army learned to never underestimate squirrels. :o

dmfalk

12 years, 1 month ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

:D

d.m.f.

DOtter

12 years, 2 months ago

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Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I'll be sure to remember it next year. Do you know if it's always January 21st or does it vary year to year?

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ DOtter

It appears to be an annual event. I haven't found an official site/page yet, but it's been around at least the last 3 years or so, always on January 21, it appears.

d.m.f.
(And thanks for +watching me at SoFurry... :) )

DOtter

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ dmfalk

Thanks, I'll make note of it then. And I would have done it before, but I didn't see it until yesterday.

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ DOtter

That's OK- I didn't learn of it until after it occurred... :P

d.m.f.
*wonders how the otter would write about squirrels...*

DOtter

12 years, 2 months ago

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@ dmfalk

*sees you wondering* The key is where I'd write about them. I keep a birthday list for my local furries. Every Sunday I post an update with birthdays and events coming up for that week. I usually include furry and animal events that I find. I try to keep it from turning into too much of a Wall-O-Text, so it would be hardly more than a mention. Something like, "Monday, (January 21st, 2013), will be Squirrel Appreciation Day; support your friendly, neighbourhood squirrels. Monday will also be..." ...like that.

dmfalk

12 years, 2 months ago

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Edited 12 years, 2 months ago by Owner

@ DOtter

Yeah, I know you're doing the calendar thing... Like I said, I didn't know about it until after it was over, due to this song submission of FA, which I saw the following day. In my search on Google, I see mention of it for 2010 and 2011, as well as this year.

d.m.f.
(And I was thinking along the line of stories, but like I said, I knew you did the calendar for Toronto-area furs...)

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Squirrel Appreciation Day! (Late, yet again...)

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