Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Squirly McGee



A few weeks ago Angela and I met a squirrel outside our apartment. It responded to that noise people make when they want to attract cats, with the same hand gesture. After getting some nuts from the apartment we started feeding Squirly, as we named him, and we had him climbing on our legs eating the nuts that we had placed on them.

The other day I saw him running on top of the fence outside my bedroom window and I called out to him, like before, and he came and sat down in the path looking up at me. I threw down some nuts and he sat eating them with a small bird that had joined him. I had the idea of using the plastic lid of a jar to make a small basket to lower some nuts down on some string.

He wasn't really interested in the basket, or he had vanished, but anyway I left all my nuts on the window sill and left the room to have a shower. When I came back I found him sitting on the sill inside the apartment eating those nuts. He let me come close and I took some photos of him. He had pissed on the window sill and he scurried off once all the nuts were gone.

He has come back since and now I regularly leave nuts for him to come and collect.

Oli.

3 comments:

Laura said...

I have to say, squirrels are not cute to me... you know, they're basically big rats, even if they look less menacing. I do find it endlessly endearing, however, that you are crafting a friendship with this critter. I can't believe you guys let it crawl on your legs! That was not mentioned the other night! Anyway, best of luck with this vermin. Hopefully he won't lead the other rodents to your place.

Anonymous said...

Power to the Squirrels! We can't let the slander of our kind go on! Long enough have we been maligned as nothing but vermin but no more!

Anonymous said...

Surely it's a window cill? It is in England!