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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Squirrel Spirits


After I put yesterday's post together about the poll I realized something. I've been holding out on you! I dug around in my archives for some appropriate pictures to go along with the post, and one of them was a little different than the others. The last picture was more than just a tree. It also had a black squirrel in it.

I'm pretty sure I never showed you these pictures before. After moaning about how I never get any good pictures of these little forest ninjas, there they were in my archives all along. Oh sure, these are good compared to some of the others I have, but I've seen better pictures of black squirrels. Who knows? I might even have some that I haven't told you about.

These are still pretty good though. These dark little creatures are very hard to catch on camera. They are almost nothing but shadow even when I am seeing them with my own eyes. Speaking of eyes, you can see the shine in this squirrels eyes in these pictures. Their fur is so dark that it's like they're shadowy spirits or something.


Hmm, tree spirits was the subject of my post yesterday. These little tree squirrels seem to consider themselves the protectors of trees. They make their homes in trees just like many tree spirits. It was my friend from WillOaks Studio that first compared these black squirrels to tree spirits. It got me thinking.

How do we know that all of these squirrels are really just ordinary squirrels? Maybe some of these little watchers are the tree spirits themselves, disguised as normal everyday squirrels so that us mortal humans would never find out. This isn't just idle speculation I'm making either. I have something very interesting for you to think about.

One favorite food of a squirrel is an acorn. You can see an acorn in this black squirrels mouth. An acorn is actually the nut of an oak tree. That means if you plant an acorn it might grow to become a mighty oak tree. Here's where it gets good now. Oak trees are the clue to all of this strange stuff, so keep reading.


One thing about tree spirits and fairies, especially nymphs and dryads, is that they are thought to come from another place. Where? Elsewhere! Some call it fairy land. There are other names for it, but it is a place not of this earth. In many legends different types of trees have different functions. The function of the oak tree is that it is the portal to that other place!

So either these squirrels are very close friends with the tree spirits, or maybe they are even the tree spirits themselves. Think about all of this. This might give you a whole new perspective on those cute little squirrels, or maybe tree spirits. That little black squirrel in these pictures may just be much more than he seems.

And take a very close look at the trunk of that tree. I think I see a gnarled face looking back at me.

19 comments:

  1. The black squirrels are the most mysterious of all the squirrels so who knows, maybe they are some sort of spirit. The fox squirrels we have here are just too nutty to qualify, they are more like court jesters.

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  2. Very interesting thought, now you have me curious about all the little mythical creatures that may be among us. I think I did see a face in the trunk of that tree too

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  3. Yes, Ratty! Very interesting thought, and now I am like Ann, wondering about spirits of the creatures I see..

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  4. I just did a blog a few days ago about my encounter with a squirrel. Have a peak if you have a minute...

    I have been following your blog for a while...and enjoying it very much. Thank you.

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  5. Wow, there are lots of black squirrels near you. I swear I've never seen one. Where do they live? We have lots of brown and gray squirrels.

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  6. love the black squirrels, these are so unusual to me. i would like to think there is truth to your thoughts. that would be so cool. have a great day...hugz!

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  7. Oh!! What an excellent job of "peering into the mystery!!" I love your speculation here about black squirrels=tree spirits=life of the woods=connection to other worlds! Here, there are gray squirrels and while I'd just love to give them accolades, too...instead of acorns, they plant black walnut trees in the darndest places!

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  8. You see them in the forest. I see them in a small town... very different sense of their personalities. But when they live in the heart of the tree, who knows with whom they commune?

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  9. I do not think I need to comment further. I have read all the comments, they speak so well.

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  10. I have a back yard chock full of these very same tree spirits! They provide me hours of entertainment.

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  11. Ratty huh? Ha HA!!! Your blog is awesome. And your good at writing as well. I hope you'll check out my blog and let me know what you think.

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  12. Yes I see the face in the tree...which may be the true tree spirit...who knows?

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  13. I love the pics...I think the squirrels aren't the tree spirits but the defenders of the tree spirits and they can summon them forward when they want advice...and that's just what this little squirrel did here...he summoned the tree spirit to check that you were friend and not foe....can you see how the tree spirit comes out of the tree slowly throughout the sequence of your shots to check you out??? I think you will always be safe in this area now Ratty as the tree spirits will watch over you!!!

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  14. Curiosity breeds mystery and you may just be right. These little creatures take residence in the trees and as spirits can transform into squirrely critters.

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  15. I like the way those photos came out Ratty. I get silhouettes of squirrels sometimes when the light isn't right.

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  16. It's been a busy few days for me! But now it's time to respond to some of your comments, and answer some questions that have come. I'll try my best to get to my previous posts too, but I want to visit your blogs before I do that.
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    @SquirrelQueen
    That's what I love about the squirrels. Each Tribe(I said that on purpose) has its very own personality type.
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    @Ann
    I hope to explore this mythical creature idea further in the future. That face is hard to make out at first, but it's there. :)
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    @Icy BC
    I think I'm going to do some further research on this whole idea. I'll try to bring more information when I can organize it.
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    @Wendytb
    I will definitely be over to have a look. I love reading about squirrel encounters. I'm glad you're following my blog, and even more glad you commented. Feel free to comment very often. :)
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    @DK Miller
    My area is very full of black squirrels. Some live in the forest, but most live in neighborhoods, just like most other tree squirrels. Black squirrels are quite tribal, so they are usually found in limited areas.
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    @PJ
    I think it would be cool too. There is an odd relation there to squirrels and tree spirits.
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    @WillOaks Studio
    I'll be doing a lot more "mystery peering" one of these days. And how do we know those gray squirrels didn't plant those walnuts on purpose? Maybe they knew exactly what they were doing.
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    @Sharkbytes
    I actually see more black squirrels right in the neighborhoods around me. I think the forest squirrels are slightly different though, sort of like a city mouse and country mouse sort of thing.
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    @Jen Chandler
    Tree folklore is something I'm just now learning about. I want to learn a lot more. And yes, there is definitely a story in this.
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    @Rainfield
    This is a good day for comments. They have jolted me out of a slumber.
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    @Buggys
    They don't like my backyard very much. I wish they did. Then I'd have many more pictures.
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    @Windie
    Because of your kind words, I will definitely take a look at your blog.
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    @The Retired One
    I actually noticed the face before I saw the squirrel. I hoped someone else could see it. :)
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    @Allotments4you
    That's an excellent theory on the squirrels and the tree spirits. I noticed that the face changed a bit with each picture. You're right that it seems to come out more with each picture. I didn't notice that part until you said it. :)
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    @Poetic Shutterbug
    It's an odd and curious thing that squirrels seem to fit the behavioral description of many tree spirits.
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    @Ginnymo
    I get those silhouettes much more than I want sometimes. I like them too, but I hope I can get a few brighter shots here and there. :)

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  17. just dropped by to say hi, taking a break from workloads. :)

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  18. Forest spirit never revealed its true form during the day. Most of the time in the form of creatures like squirrel. Maybe you should go back to that tree in the evening Ratty. Bring your infrared equipment, flashlight and spirit detector :p

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  19. @Cher
    I understand about workload. I'm glad you stopped by. :)
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    @VanillaSeven
    I've been to this forest at night. There are plenty of odd things there at night, but it's not a good time for taking pictures.

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