Evening star., 1946-09-30
This and That
By Charles E. Tr0ce,Dell

Squirrels are going to be plentiful this
winter, no matter what the hunters do
this fall.
Nature watchers have seldom seen 80
many baby squirrels.
They come in twos and threes with
fine tails and as active as can be; they
in the most professional manner
Some of them are being carried into
sttics by their mothers, where, if they
are not driven out, they will live snug
as bugs in rugs all during the cold.
Recently on our street a mother
squirrel carried three babies, one by one,
along the electric light wire into an
attic.
This performance was watched with
great interest by huge Persian cat, a
member of the family.
Squirrels in an attic are not an un-
mixed blessing.
They sound like elephants, as they
gambol, frisk and play on the attic
floor.
There is some element Of danger, be-
cause there is never any telling when
the little fellows sharp teeth will
sample the electric wire.
If the noise and this danger are over
looked, as they we'll may be, usually
without any resulting harm, the antics
OF the squirrels are always interesting
What q fine time they have of it, snug
and warm during the winter!
Those that do not 60 indoors-and
this includes most of the squirrel popu-
lation-seem to get along just as well,
OF perhaps better, for they are outdoor
animals, 6 course.
They love the trees, and ask nothing
better, even in the coldest weather The
babies are we'll grown, and completely
furred by the time the frosts appear.
The tree is actually their home as
well as gymnasium.
Nothing is cutter" than a parcel Of
squirrels galloping around over their
home tree.
They refuse to come to the ground for
about a month after they are born.
Even after they are good sized, they
Will come down almost to the ground,
then turn around and dart up again.
The first one to touch foot on mother
earth does so tentatively, with much
misgiving, but is soon followed by its
brothers and sisters.
The squirrel nest-that is, of the gray
sort common hereabouts-is mostly =
large bird nest" affair high up.
When the leaves are of the trees,
these large nests are easily seen through
the suburban area.
They are made of leaves bitten off by
the mother. Branches of locust leaflets
are favorites. She rolls them up, and
carries them high into the selected tree.
Usually she secures the leaves and
branches from other trees, not from the
selected one. Thus she is forced to make
hundreds of trips, solemnly running
down, going across ground, and then up
the tree, then biting of her leaves and
going through the performance in re-
verse.
The leaves she selects are not indi-
vidual leaves, but group of them on a
stem, SO that when she gets to the
building site she unrolls the ball and
has q nice construction unit which she
can tie in with others.
The resulting nest is solid enough, and
cool In summer and warm in winter.
There is enough shelter afforded for the
coldest days.
1t is curious fact that sometime in
late summer the mother squirrel often
removes all her babies from the nest.
Just why she does this Is q question.
Some think it is for sanitary reasons,
and that the nest will be blown and
washed clean again by need time when
the cold comes.
Others believe that she does this to
remove the baby squirrels from the pos
sibility Of danger from enemies which
may have spotted them.
Probably combination of these rea-
sons is often true. The squirrel mother
takes excellent care Of her young until
they are able to take care of themselves.
That she has done q good job may be
seen on every suburban street this fall.