Sunday, October 4, 2009

Just Trying To Get A Nut


In the past few days I've been somewhat seriously explaining the nature of some of the animals I meet along the way, but right now it's time to go back into Everyday Adventurer story mode. This story is about a friendly little fox squirrel I met while I was headed down to the lake.

This little squirrel was happily wandering around on the trail when I walked over. I kept my distance so he wouldn't run away, but he didn't really seem to mind my presence anyway. I didn't know what exactly he was doing, and I didn't want to interrupt him. He seemed to be sniffing all around the trail as if he was searching for something. Can you guess what it was?

He stopped a few times, examining things on the ground. But then he would quickly move on to his next little stop. He would only move along a short distance at a time before he checked out another little prize. Inch by inch, step by step, this little fox squirrel would creep along examining the ground for whatever it was he seemed to be searching for.


Then he stopped and looked up at me as if he wanted to let me know he knew I was there. Of course I didn't make a move at all! Even my finger that was holding down the shoot button on my camera was frozen so that the camera would continuously keep taking pictures. Let me tell you, I got plenty of shots of this little guy!

After deciding I was okay where I was, the squirrel went back to his jittery little search of the area. This time when he stopped to sniff at something, he seemed to take a little more time than he had every other time before. I knew it! He found something!

He quickly seemed to grasp something with his mouth, and began to seem to be chewing on his new little find. His little head was making very small little jerking motions as he gnawed away at his prize. Then as quick as a flash, his busy little hands reached out to where his face was, and he grabbed onto his little nugget.

 
Then finally he stood up to show off just what he had found. I'm sure you have already guessed what it was. No, that's completely ridiculous! Why would you think he had a toad in his mouth? It was a nut that he had! An acorn to be more specific. Acorns are one of the favorite foods of squirrels.

I always wondered if acorns were edible by humans. I never saw them in a store or market. Peanuts, walnuts, and cashews are everywhere, but no acorns. I decided to find out for myself, and I discovered that they are in fact edible, but it takes a little bit of work to do it. People do eat them, but I guess they must not taste as good to us as peanuts.

One of these days I'll have to do a whole post about acorns. My friend the squirrel seems to like them just fine. He likes them so much that he's willing to stand right there in front of me and eat one. He was mostly unconcerned with me, because he was just trying to get a nut.

22 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this. My cat actually caught one this morning in our back yard and I had to yell at her and she let go of it and it ran up a tree. They are cute animals I think.

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  2. Your squirrel is cute. It just stand in front of you, eating its acorn. It may have the intention to share with you, only too shy to say it out.

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  3. Hi Ratty,
    things are still very hectic in our family. But, I had to stop to say hello to your little squirrel!

    Today is the funeral and hopefully after that I too will get up some shots.

    BTW...I got here today via Adgetize! Have a good day!
    Jackie

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  4. I think you should do a post about acorns...I go foraging a lot and it would be nice to know if I could gather these too...I suppose I could find out myself...but then I would steal all your glory and after all it was your idea!!!

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  5. I don't know if squirrels eat toads! I've seen them catch birds and rats before but I can't imagine toads tasting very good.

    I think some people make acorn coffee, though I've never tried it myself.

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  6. Love your squirrel stories. I think that a post on acorns would be very interesting. I did know that they were edible but have never tried one.

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  7. Hi interesting post,
    is a fox squirrel a male grey ...or is it a different species.

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  8. Great shots of the squirrel Ratty! Around our area, the giant walnuts are what the squirrels after..

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  9. I'd be a terrible squirrel, because I have never liked nuts..no kind of nut..and I hate peanut butter too, of course. So I guess I would have to eat toads. ha

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  10. i always love your photos of the squirrels. it is cool when you are able to watch the animals hunt and eat. have a great day ratty...hugz!

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  11. another funny post and fun photos. thanks always for sharing these simple joys in life that are free.

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  12. Squirrels do have good sniffers on them to search out nuts. They don't seem to remember where they buried their nuts at times but usually one of the other squirrels will find it. Some of my squirrels are always carrying off rocks. I think they use them in their nests. They are very entertaining to watch.

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  13. Jordasche Bledsoe - I'm glad the squirrel was okay. They can sometimes be mean little creatures, but I still love 'em. It's a shame that the cat couldn't have it's fun though.
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    Rainfield - I don't think it wanted to share with me, but I think it would have welcomed me to take a different one for myself. :)
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    Jackie - A funeral is always the most important thing, so take your time. I hope you and your family are as fine as you can be despite something like this.
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    allotments4you - We could each do a post about acorns. That would be fun. I'm sure they would both be very different, I'm always different. If yours came up first I would give a link to it so everyone else could get extra information.
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    John - I don't think a squirrel would actually eat a toad but they would eat a lizard. Acorns have been used for a variety of food. I'm going to do a little bit of research on them soon.
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    Ann - I'm not sure yet, but I think acorns have to be prepared for humans to eat them. I'm going to find out soon. I'll make sure I do a post.
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    I am Stan - A fox squirrel is a different species. Fox squirrels have reddish brown fur, and they are bigger than gray squirrels. Search my blog for Fox Squirrels and you'll find some good information on them. I hope that helps.
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    Icy BC - Yeah, they love all sorts of nuts. When I lived in Detroit we had a chestnut tree that they were nuts over. :)
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    The Retired One - Blasphemy! Not even peanut butter? Just kidding. We all have things we don't like. I'm one of the worst picky eaters there is. :)
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    PJ - I just hope I don't inundate you all with squirrels. I love them so much that I want to do squirrel stories all the time.
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    Betchai - I'll try to keep doing this as long as I can. That's the good thing about it, they are always here.
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    Ginnymo - Squirrels are some of the most fun little critters to watch. They are always up to something. I'd like to see what they do with those rocks.
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  14. Thats a cute squirrel you had there. I am also wondering how acorn taste like.

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  15. My neighbor has a very large walnut tree in his yard and the squirrels are happily gathering them and 'hiding' them in my flower beds and planters. The walnuts are almost bigger than their mouths. There are fox squirrels at the local parks and my yard but sometimes I see a Douglas squirrel.

    If you decide to try an acorn make sure it is from a white oak and not a red oak. We had oak trees when I was growing up, my mom says I tried to eat an acorn when I was very young.

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  16. Every creature are trying to survive on the earth. Like this squirrel, nice detailing.

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  17. Love your squirrel stories. Thats a cute squirrel you had there.I also like them.

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  18. PJ @ You are saying right my friend I like photos mostly.

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  19. VanillaSeven - I would guess that acorns aren't very good unless they're prepared right. And I also think there are certain kinds that aren't good for humans.
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    SquirrelQueen - I'd love to see a Douglas squirrel. I don't think we have them here.

    I won't be trying any acorns any time soon. Just from the little bit I've read so far, I understand there's a problem with certain acorns and human digestion. I'll be doing more research on acorns soon.
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    R4 - It's nice to see when two different creatures can do their surviving side by side with no hostilities.
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    Music Training Teachers - The squirrels are fun when they're being polite, and they're sometimes even fun when they're angry.

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  20. ok Ratty...your on...I will start looking into acorns and do a post...lets see what we can find out between us!!!

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  21. I would like to share this incredible slow motion squirrel jumping video. The squirrel's tail seems to act just like a propeller!

    http://vimeo.com/6746847

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  22. A friend tried really hard to make acorn meats edible with multiple boilings/blanchings. He was less than thrilled with the results.

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