This weekend, dear friend Jen Parrish visiting from out of town, spotted this hole in one of my oak trees and said it was kitten-head shaped. Thus the name Hello Kitty Tree was born and giggled about (and other things). On Tuesday, as I went to the end of my drive to check the mail, I spotted a face in said Hello Kitty hole. To my surprise....
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| Cat-shaped hole in the oak tree. |
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| One little squirrel face - seemed to be saying "hello". |
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| To my delight, two squirrels appear! |
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| Imagine my squealing and laughing when I spied three squirrels. |
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It's nuts out there!!!
How sweet! Before I had a good camera, I was sitting in my garden and kept hearing quite a commotion behind me. In a narrow, hollow tree, a VERY enthusiastic gang of young red squirrel faces were poking out of 4 holes in various levels of the tree. For the next few weeks, I would see them get bolder and bolder scurrying in and out and up and down, practically knocking each other off - which, with Pasha fascinated by all the noise - would NOT have been good. It was such fun to watch those crazy critters learn about tree climbing. The same squirrel family is probably the one responsible for beaning my metal roof with acorns and beechnuts now at 5:30am... but I don't mind, it only lasts a few weeks and they are sweet.
ReplyDeleteValerianna - your story makes me smile! What a wonderful thing to bear witness to. I've a hunch these may be mama + offspring. The hole is about 30 feet off the ground, so I hope no neighborhood kitties could/would venture that far up.
ReplyDeleteOh my!! How CUTE!! Didn't they find a cozy and warm place for themselves. That will be a great home in the winter. I just love squirrels. They are the "court jesters" of nature. Enjoy these little guys!
ReplyDeleteI am laughing so hard! What a great post and photos about your wonderful tree and it's inhabitants. :-)
ReplyDeleteKim - they did and safe from storms and hurricanes (like we just had!). Very court jester like.
ReplyDeleteCatherine - I laughed too - so much so that I scared the first squirrel back in the hole. Then, it came back out - with reinforcements! Would love to hear their dialogue.
Several kitties I know could surely climb that high (including my roommate) .. however, the hole is small and I bet the mother would be quite surly if anyone started up the tree. Angry squirrels are not something kitties want to meet while hanging by their toes that far up, I don't think!! They're probably pretty safe.
ReplyDeleteValerianna - eeeks. I only know of two prowling kitties in the neighborhood - one is so old, she can barely waddle; the other isn't much larger than a squirrel and is pretty lazy, so I hope she'd not try it. I'm going to limit my standing by the tree talking, photo-taking so as not to draw attention to it to be on the safe side.
ReplyDeleteWhat an oddly shaped hole -- it looks almost like the tree did it on purpose. It always fascinates me how squirrels can move so quickly, and then freeze motionless in an instant.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I notice you have some new goodies in your Etsy shop. Love the art nouveau flowers.
ReplyDeleteWOL - isn't it - just like a cat head!!! and seems to accommodate their ears nicely. Indeed, stop motion critters.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Yes, I need to do a proper update and make more stuff.
Great pictures.
ReplyDeleteHermes - thank you!
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH that is just amazing! haha i was already happy to see one!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics and thank you so much for sharing
Leontien
Leontien - You are most welcome!!! and thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteAw, hells to the yes!!!
ReplyDeleteEnchanted - hopefully, they'll make an appearance for you:)
ReplyDeleteThat last pictures is priceless. So adorable!
ReplyDeleteKristin
Kristin - I've an even better one to share with three little heads poking out. So love these little squirrels.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me miss our two little squirrel visitors at our old house. "Sassy" would come by and beg for treats. She wasn't afraid of us at all - she'd even tap us on our feet - and knew where we hid her treats. After a while, she introduced us to her friend, "Samwise Gamgee." (Their own pics are on my pets blog). Samwise was shyer than Sassy.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the time squirrels get a bad reputation, but personally I LOVE them!
Those really are adorable pictures. They belong on a calendar or something. I swear they're posing for you.
Kristin
Kristin - popping over to your blogs to see the squirrel cuteness. Thanks for pointing the way. I've tons of them, but these Wee Three are loaded with personality!
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