squirrels | wordsfromanneli

August 20, 2026
by wordsfromanneli 23 Comments

Musical Houses

Apologies for the cell phone quality of the photo, but this post is more about content than photography.

My neighbour who took the cougar video in a previous post, also took a picture of this house he built with birds in mind.

The birds didn’t even have time to get interested when the squirrels decided to move in and occupy the premises with their expanding family of at least three babies. I doubt if they stayed long, but it was a funhouse for the kids. Too bad the cell phone doesn’t take clearer photos. Mine is the same. It’s not a high end phone and pictures taken quickly and at any distance just don’t come out that clear. But if we overlook the blurriness, the idea of these little guys exploring the three-storey house makes me smile. I felt it was worth posting regardless of the quality.

I wonder if they played musical chairs with the houses. Remember that game? There was always one fewer chair than there were children. We marched around to the music not straying too far from the chairs and when the music stopped, we had to sit down on a chair. One child was always left without a chair, so he was “out.” Another chair was removed and the game began again. Each time one child was out of luck and another chair was removed. At last there was only one chair and two children. I shudder to think of the scramble for that last chair. I would be tempted to declare two winners.

I’m sure the squirrels scrambled around these birdhouses. Maybe they played “King of the Castle” instead.

June 6, 2026
by wordsfromanneli 41 Comments

Baby Squirrel

One baby squirrel showed up today. There may be more, but I suspect that there was only one this year. I think they would have all come out together like they did in the new family of squirrels a couple of years ago.

No name yet for Junior, but some idea will come up.

Whatcha eatin’, Mom?

Hazelnuts, Junior. Watch! This is how you do it.

Junior’s full of energy,

Zipping right along,

Though he still is quite naive,

Can’t tell right from wrong.

Mother squirrel teaches him,

What’s okay to eat,

Showing him the way to get

All that good nutmeat.

May 30, 2026
by wordsfromanneli 26 Comments

Breakfast with Crispin

I was baking this morning and wanted to put some walnuts into my banana loaf. I found them in the freezer next to a big bag of hazelnuts from last year’s harvest.

Should I substitute hazelnuts for the walnuts? Crispin would like some, I’m sure. So I used the walnuts for baking and put some hazelnuts out in the woodshed for Crispin.

He loves them! See how he gets right into it?

“These are so yummy. Who would have thought I’d get a taste of hazelnuts before this year’s crop is ripe?”

“I’m just so tickled to have found this treat waiting for me. Would you like a bite?”

“No? Okay, that’s fine by me. I’ll just have to eat it all myself.”

“I’m just wondering if Anneli went without breakfast this morning. Her hands are shaking so much, the video clip is all over the map.”

May 20, 2026
by wordsfromanneli 31 Comments

The Food Filcher

I brought some hazelnuts out to the squirrels and put them by the post in the middle of the woodshed.

Crispin helped himself, and then nearly choked on his food.

“Yikes!” he mumbled through a hazelnut. His teeth chattered.

“Wh-wh-what’s Henry doing here?”

“I heard about all the free food,” Henry said.

“I’m comin’ up there to get me some of that, and you’d better be gone if you know what’s good for you.”

But Crispin had already stashed away most of the hazelnuts, and only a few sunflower seeds were left.

*****

Watch as Henry roots through the wood chips and dirt to try to find leftovers. Notice his fingers and the toes on the end of his long feet. But he’s a dainty eater when he does find a morsel.

Having eaten his fill of leftover sunflower seeds, he climbs a tree to look for a safe place to have a nap. Must check out the now-vacant birdhouse on his way up.

When he gets beyond the birdhouse, watch how he looks down and then decides to risk a little jump to the next branch for a new grip. He’s fussy about which branches to pull himself up on. One is rather skinny and dead, so he contemplates it only for a split second before moving on to a thicker branch.

And up at the top he found a very fat branch that provided a cozy platform for him to have a nap in the sunshine, out of reach of lower level dangers.

February 19, 2026
by wordsfromanneli 23 Comments

Ratty Graffiti

Good morning world, it’s time to wake,

And see what’s been donated,

I don’t expect to get a cake,

But scraps are ‘preciated.

Oh goodness me! A note I see,

It says, “Go check the middle.”

But ratty got there before me,

I know, I smell his piddle.

And also I can tell his script,

His writing is atrocious,

His spelling’s bad, his letters flipped,

I know ‘cuz I’m precocious.

But oh-h-h-h how awful are his words,

They’re crude and so disgusting.

And what of all the little birds,

Who surely will discuss them?

That dirty rat messed up my den,

And now I’ll have to paint it,

I hope he won’t do that again,

It’s really mean, now ain’t it?

No need to have a heart attack,

I’ll get a drink of water.

I’ll hang on with my toes in back,

I hope they hold, they oughter.

That’s better, and within my means,

This cone is good, don’t doubt it,

Or like in gangster movie scenes,

I’ll just fuggedaboudid.

January 2, 2026
by wordsfromanneli 43 Comments

Crispin’s Dining Room

While pruning one of our yew trees, I reached in towards the center, groping for the branch to cut, and felt a bird’s nest, obviously left there late last spring. Hesitantly, I checked for leftover unhatched eggs or dead chicks before I would throw the nest away.

The “eggs” I found in the nest were all cracked open, but they sure looked like hazelnut shells to me.

“Aha! Crispin the Squirrel has been here. I hope he only found the nest after the baby birds had flown.” I reasoned that the hazelnuts would not have been ripe until late fall, and the baby birds would have flown in the spring, so I didn’t think too badly of Crispin for making himself at home in this new dining room of his.