Jasper and Crispin are in love. They’ve been chasing each other up and down the fir trees, and through stacks of firewood in the woodshed.
It looks like Jasper has finally caught up to Crispin.
Crispin might be having second thoughts. She’s sneaking away – a bit late – as Jasper’s declarations of love came as a bit of a surprise today. Something tells me that, after all her flirting, she wasn’t expecting quite so much attention. She’s going to find a quiet place to contemplate WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
“Crispin, come back! I love you!” Jasper calls. But she’s gone.
“That was sure fun! But will she come back? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so aggressive, but I thought she was just playing hard to get. And she didn’t say no. Heck! I thought she liked it. I know I did.”
“But what if she gets pregnant? Oh dear! I’m not sure I’m ready to be a father. Oh deardeardear! She’s probably mad at me. I may never see her again.”
“But no! Here she comes with a peace offering. Isn’t she just so sweet?”
“Does this mean you’re my girl? Will you marry me, Crispin?”
January 20, 2022 at 2:55 pm
Sooooooooo niedlich ๐ฅฐ
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January 20, 2022 at 3:27 pm
I agree. They are such little sweethearts.
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January 20, 2022 at 11:49 pm
Absolute ๐
We have more of the reddish brown ones.
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January 21, 2022 at 10:08 am
Yes, I think you have the European version of our red squirrel. Do they have tufts of hair on their ears?
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January 21, 2022 at 10:24 am
Yes, they did. Looks like little brushes ๐๐๐ฟ๏ธ
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January 21, 2022 at 10:58 am
They’re so cute.
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January 21, 2022 at 12:40 pm
๐ค๐
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January 20, 2022 at 3:08 pm
This is sooo cute, Anneli! They are adorable lovers. Are the black squirrels? Michigan has black squirrels along the border with Sarnia, Ontario, so cute!
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January 20, 2022 at 3:25 pm
No, these are the red squirrels, smaller than the gray (and black) squirrels and not nearly as hard on the birds and other small creatures. The gray squirrels kill red squirrels and have taken over in many areas. Much as I like squirrels, I’m not a fan of the gray and black ones for the damage they do. The red squirrel population is quite down because of the grays.
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January 20, 2022 at 5:39 pm
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
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January 20, 2022 at 5:46 pm
We’ll have to wait a couple of months to find out. Unless we can get some home pregnancy tests for Crispin.
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January 20, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Hehee
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January 20, 2022 at 5:46 pm
So adorable, Anneli. How great that the reds are finding a relatively safe, comfortable home with you. Iโve only seen red squirrels here in NWT, no blacks or greys.
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January 20, 2022 at 5:47 pm
That’s good. The grays really take over and kill the little reds. We don’t have grays right here, but I know that in other places on the island they have them.
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January 20, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Yes, the greys are very aggressive. They were imported into the UK and have almost caused the extinction of the reds. I believe thereโs now a major trapping program for greys in UK.
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January 20, 2022 at 6:38 pm
That’s right and they seem to be moving like a big wave, destroying all the little Lincolns in their path.
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January 22, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Yes, sadly they were introduced here and it’s a now a major headache. However, our red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a very different species to the North American red (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) – not related at all, just a case of someone giving the same name to two completely separate species! So it’s really just a coincidence that the eastern grey squirrel doesn’t get along with either ‘red’ squirrel.
Our red squirrel is much larger than its North American namesake so outright aggression from the greys isn’t generally an issue; in the UK actually generally ignore each other. It’s all a lot more subtle. There a virus that greys appear to transmit to Eurasian reds which probably explains a lot, and it’s also believed that they out-compete them in getting to food supplies. But there are additional reasons for the Eurasian red squirrel’s decline, e.g. habitat loss and historical persecution by forestry interests. Plus deaths on roads and predation by domestic cats. Tough one to untangle.
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January 22, 2022 at 2:05 pm
I worry about “my” squirrels for all those reasons. Our spaniel is not allowed to go near the woodshed where they tend to hang out.
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January 22, 2022 at 7:50 pm
Thanks for all the information. ๐
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January 20, 2022 at 6:36 pm
That’s so sweet. Your squirrels are much cuter than the ones we have here.
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January 20, 2022 at 6:39 pm
If they are the big gray ones, please don’t encourage them. They are bad news.
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January 20, 2022 at 6:42 pm
Don’t I know it! They destroyed our first bird feeder – they are so bold and will stare right in at me through the window, then jump onto the feeder. But now we put feed with hot peppers in it and squirrels leave that alone.
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January 20, 2022 at 7:29 pm
I bet that was a surprise for them.
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January 20, 2022 at 8:51 pm
Lovely story Anneli๐
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January 20, 2022 at 10:16 pm
Thanks, Arlene. Nice to see you. Have a great weekend.
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January 21, 2022 at 1:16 am
Thank you for this love story, the photos are great.
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January 21, 2022 at 10:08 am
So glad you came to visit and enjoyed it.
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January 21, 2022 at 11:49 am
Thank you, they were so lovely!
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January 21, 2022 at 8:02 am
Very cute. I canยดt wait to see the babies! The pictures are great too.
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January 21, 2022 at 10:05 am
Last year’s babies were really cute. I hope to get pictures of the new ones too.
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January 21, 2022 at 10:22 am
Spring Fever struck early ๐
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January 21, 2022 at 10:22 am
I know! I was surprised. (I bet Crispin was too.)
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January 21, 2022 at 1:20 pm
Hahaha, he’s trying to catch her early, before the other boys come around! Great shots, Anneli.
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January 21, 2022 at 2:08 pm
Jasper is pretty quick. And Crispin … well … before she could say she wasn’t that kind of girl … she WAS.
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January 21, 2022 at 2:33 pm
Poor Crispin. I hope she gets all the support she needs.
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January 21, 2022 at 3:17 pm
I’m sure she’ll figure out what to do. They’re good mothers.
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January 21, 2022 at 2:16 pm
I love a good love story! โค
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January 21, 2022 at 2:29 pm
And I don’t even know the half of it.
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January 21, 2022 at 6:48 pm
They are great little posers and look happy together.
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January 21, 2022 at 7:05 pm
I think they have a lot more fun than I’m aware of.
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January 21, 2022 at 8:02 pm
You should not take photos of them at THAT! ๐
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January 21, 2022 at 11:14 pm
You are absolutely right. I confess that I didn’t know they were at it. I zoomed in and snapped a picture and didn’t know the details until I uploaded the pics to the computer.
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January 22, 2022 at 5:51 pm
๐
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January 22, 2022 at 11:09 am
Ah, nature isn’t quite into the social niceties of courting and consensual sex, is it? Well, I hope their little ones thrive and the new couple has many years ahead of scampering around the woodpile!
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January 22, 2022 at 11:36 am
Thanks, Diana. The generations evolve and carry on.
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January 23, 2022 at 10:23 am
Wonderful to see the antics and beauty of your red squirrel, Anneli. Beautiful photos of this very handsome species.
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January 23, 2022 at 10:28 am
It’s an odd situation, Jet. They are so tame and yet still quite wild. I feed them, but they mostly feed themselves. I think it’s a perfect situation for us both. I don’t want them to trust me too much, as it would endanger them to lose their cautiousness towards people.
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January 24, 2022 at 6:25 am
Haha! That’s so sweet.
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January 24, 2022 at 7:16 am
What a lovely photo essay!
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January 24, 2022 at 9:17 am
Thank you, Peter. Nice to see you again.
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January 31, 2022 at 11:10 pm
Lovely post
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February 1, 2022 at 10:08 am
Thank you. ๐
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