Squirrel Obsession

This squirrel hasn't been shot through the eye; it's just the lighting.

That is what it has become.  It is Thanksgiving, which is just another day for me, except for all the reminders of what a horrible time it is for turkeys.  So as most people continue to think of animals in terms of food (A guy at the supermarket leaned in front of me rudely to grab a turkey while I was browsing the veggie burgers, which made me want to hurt him, but I didn't.), I'll still think of them as my brothers and sisters (the animals, not the human meat-eaters).  I am obsessed with squirrels: particularly those that live around my apartment building.  They are my friends and neighbors.  I have made a regular habit of getting pure, unsalted walnuts for them when I'm shopping.  I'm worried about them because another harsh Rochester winter is just around the corner.  I just recently became aware of their nests.  I did not realize that they build tree houses out of leaves and other found materials.  I noticed that one even appears to have a plastic bag attached to it.  Was that intentional?  I have no idea.  Anyway, I must feed them.  They need extra fat to keep them warm during winter.  How impressive that these nests have withstood truly windy days.  I saw a nest on the ground near a sidewalk, though.  My heart sank.  I inspected it and found no animals, living or dead, in it, which was when I began to breathe again.  I assume that had been a squirrel's nest, though, and that he or she must have had to construct a new one: poor thing.  I certainly hope that no animals were in it when it fell.
But what do squirrels do when they are in their nests?  I hope that they only sleep, eat, and possibly masturbate there (and perhaps count their nuts), otherwise I imagine it would be quite boring.  Perhaps I'll start a business that will provide services and products specifically for squirrels, with an emphasis on leisure (nest) time.  Maybe I'll take some pictures of squirrels that are considered "hot" by other squirrels and post pinups on nest walls while the inhabitants are out foraging.  I can also imagine a cable network that is just for squirrels, which they can watch on tiny, battery-powered TV sets.  One channel will focus on the aforementioned hot squirrels, another on memorable squirrel fights, squirrels having sex would be a no-brainer for another channel, and a channel that showed the proper ways to forage and build nests would be of interest to young squirrels who are getting ready to enter the real world (By the way, what doting parents they must be!  I've never, ever seen a tiny squirrel.  So I assume that they are kept safe and protected by one or both of the parents while they are juveniles.).  And I've seen footage of at least one squirrel water skiing.  That, and other atypical squirrel behavior can show them what sort of limitless potential they all have.  I imagine it could be quite inspiring.  Perhaps I'll call it the Inspiration Channel.

Squirrel Addendum

Tail first

I saw a variety of squirrel that I had never seen before.  I was walking through my apartment complex, and a white squirrel ran across my path.  He had a tan spot on his back.
I believe one of the squirrels who forages on the grounds near my apartment recognized me.  I was taking out my garbage, and she stared at me intensely.  Then, much to my surprise, she followed me.  I kept looking behind me to check, and there she was: staring at me and hopping after me.  Perhaps she was the one that I tossed a whole walnut to.  As soon as I did that, she took off after it and seized it between her paws.  I kept telling her that I had no nuts on me, but she kept following me.  I had been in a very depressed mood until that point.  Her cuteness cheered my up considerably.  I always have to remind myself, as bad as my depression gets, I should live to help animals; they need it so badly.  I need to remind myself of times like this one; I noticed a snail, with a beautiful yellow shell, who was slithering into a large parking lot of a shopping center, where she would have most likely been crushed.  I picked her up and gently placed her into a grassy area where water would have been easily accessible to her.  

I Love Squirrels

Another lovable squirrel.

I love squirrels: don't you?  If not, why?  They are cute.  Grey squirrels have little ears, a white belly, and a big, bushy tail.  They can walk and run, but they seem to prefer to hop.  There are several squirrels living on the grounds of my apartment complex.  I have fed them several times with pure unsalted nuts.  The first squirrel to discover the nut pile gets very excited, eats some, then begins to bury the excess nuts.  I love the way they eat: sitting on their haunches.  I threw a peanut to one, and he immediately got to work: spinning it with his paws while using his teeth like a can opener on the treat.  I realized that I probably shouldn't feed them directly like that, though, and I don't think I'll do that anymore.  They shouldn't lose their fear of humans.  All animals should distrust and fear humans to some degree considering how we have treated them throughout history.
There seems to be no shortage of people who bitch and moan because they put food out for birds and squirrels take some.  What do these people have against squirrels?  What did a squirrel ever do to them?  I've never seen squirrel poop, but I've certainly seen plenty of bird poop (much of it on my car and sometimes on my clothing).  Birds make much more noise than squirrels do.  Some birds sing sweetly; some are very repetitive when it comes to the sounds they make.  I'm not saying the singing of birds bothers me; they have the right to sing if they want to.  I just appreciate the squirrel for not being a loudmouth.  I only recently discovered that squirrels vocalize.  I heard what sounded like a bird, looked out the window, and saw a squirrel.  I didn't think that she was making that sound, then I realized that the noises were synced with the movements of the squirrel's tail.  The other day I passed a squirrel who was making some sort of a call as he perched on a tree branch.  I stopped and looked at him.  He saw me looking, then stopped his call as he stared at me.
"Go on, don't stop on my account," I said to him.
But he looked at me as if to say, 'I can't do it while you're staring at me.  Go away.'
So I walked on, and he went back to his call.
I got up one morning and saw what appeared to be a flash of fur right outside my window, so I went closer to investigate.  A squirrel was doing a tightrope walk on a power line.  Was it really necessary for her to do that, or was she doing that just for the fun of it?  I wonder.  At any rate, she made me laugh, and that's always a good way to start the day.      

The Bald Vegan

The bald vegan eats neither bunnies nor baby groundhogs

I want this to be a fun blog, but I can't help trying to make a difference in the lives of animals.  They need so much help.  People continue to be completely outraged by the (human) holocaust.  Unfortunately, countless animals have been enduring their own holocaust for many years now, and still it continues.  And if you're offended that I'm comparing the plight of animals to the holocaust, then you have offended me, because you obviously think that the lives of people matter, and the lives of animals do not.  I wouldn't say the following about anyone who's physically or mentally handicapped, dealing with a major disease like cancer, elderly to the point of being hopelessly set in their ways, or children.  So this is for everyone else; anyone who eats meat is either ignorant or selfish.  You're either ignorant of the suffering that you are causing in the animal world, or you know about it, and you just don't care, which would make you selfish.  Virtually no one needs to eat meat.  Therefore, the eating of it is a selfish and destructive act.
It's even more selfish when you consider what Peter Singer wrote in his classic Animal Liberation.  This one piece of information blew my mind.  If everyone stopped eating meat, we could end world hunger.  Vast amounts of acres are taken up by food which is grown for pigs, cows, chickens, etc.  If we ceased to intentionally bring these animals into this world for the purposes of our consumption, then all that food that would have gone to the animals can now be used to feed hungry people.  I'm not suggesting starving the existing livestock.  But if most people stopped eating meat, it would greatly reduce the demand for animal flesh, so less animals would be brought into the world to eat the staggering amounts of food grown for them.  This makes the extra food available for human consumption.  Obviously, we could easily control animal populations by separating males from females.
I really don't anticipate posting recipes and stuff like that.  I'm pretty sure there's plenty of that around anyway.  Besides, I don't cook.  I just heat things up.  I'm sure I'm coming off like a jerk to some degree, but I can't help it.  I've seen the footage of animals suffering, and I've read books about it.  It angers me to know that so many people could help put an end to it, but they obviously don't care.  The animal rights movement has been going on for a long time now, and I suppose that people have been against animal abuse as long as people have existed.  But we've always been too small of a minority: too easy to ignore or ridicule.  Change is necessary.  Minorities, women, and gay people have all had to fight for the rights that they should have had in the first place.  Animals, especially food animals, don't really have any rights and they are not able to fight for them.  Those of us who would fight for them need to be strong and persistent.  Baby steps are not enough.  Baby steps are what have been made for over a hundred years now and the animals are still trapped in hell.  If you eat meat, then I implore you to become a vegetarian.  It's not just good for the animals, it's good for your health.  Omitting eggs from your diet is the next easy step.  Giving up foods that have milk in them was the hardest part of becoming vegan for me.  I prefer milk chocolate to dark chocolate and I love the flavor of mozzarella cheese.  But vegans have many delicious options to choose from.  Besides, if you're an adult, shouldn't you have some discipline when it comes to what you eat?