How it began

on Monday, June 04, 2007


Guess what? I finally got my photo scanner. It's not the best as it was actually a free hand me down when an office upgraded their equipment but it will do for now. It means I can access my non-digital photos and that means I can at last show you pictures of Spikey and Loonie the two squirrels that started my obsession and downward spiral into subservience to squirrels. By the next spring I was firmly entranced as their slave, dutifully buying nuts every week on my pitiful student allowance, for an entire circus of some fifteen regular squirrels and assorted transients.

For the whole sorry story, read all about it in "Introducing the cast and characters", the suspenseful "Did I kill him?" and the X-file episode "Dissecting Spikey".

Anyway, I am celebrating having the scanner at last as it gives me access to a lot more material. Happy days.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this post. Thanks for posting pictures and for the links to the posts about loonie and spikey.
What great memories of your University days and the little friends who made a life long impression.

Evalinn said...

Interesting, I´ll have to come back to read this!

Janice Thomson said...

A delightful post Lgs and you have spurred me on to get my own scanner fixed. I look forward to oodles of photos now, especially of your furry friends.

meggie said...

LGS, I have loved reading all about your first encounter with a Squirrel. I followed the linked stories, & also read of the Ninja!
You really should consider putting all this wonderful writing into a book!
I have never seen a live Squirrel, we dont have them in New Zealand or Australia.

CS said...

You've just reminded me that I need to install my scanner on the new computer. Cute squirrels - I saw one yesterday eating a bag of chips.

Tai said...

That's awesome...I'm SO looking forward to more squirrelness!

Open Grove Claudia said...

Wow! That's cool - I never knew squirrels came in other colors. Are there squirrel hair dressers?

.Tom Kapanka said...

Looks like the scanner works just fine. Nice poem about loneliness below. It mentions Autumn. Do you find that a sense of melancholy comes in the fall? I do. Does everyone have that feeling? (I should not ask that question in June!)

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Top Cat,
Thanks for reading and sharing my eccentricities.

evalinn,
Always welcome. What squirrels do you have in Sweden? Red squirrels?

janice,
Thanks. Love to see some of your art work.

meggie,
A book? Really? I'd have to be a lot less lazy for that to happen. You don't have squirrels but you have possums. They are not unlike in that they are both thieves and scoundrels. Only difference is that squirrels know how to be loveable scoundrels..... you know, the way Casanova was a scoundrel but women still go faint over him! Possums need a good PR team.

cs,
I have been reading about your bird feeder and your feathered friends. Any problem with thieving squirrels?

tai,
You're back! How was Italy? Italian men? Tell all with pictures! Okay, I confess....I'm most interested in How was Italian food!

claudia,
It's the old saying that nothing is black and white. Hence "Grey" squirrels are anything from melanistic (black) to Pepper Grey to Golden. What color are Denver Squirrels? They are pepper grey, I think.

tom,
As you know, I went through a long depression. For me, autumn is a melancholic season but when i was depressed, I strangely felt most at peace in that season. I was least lonely because the world seemed to share my despodency and as I said in the poem, you can learn to wear loneliness like a comfortable garment. In contrast, the festive seasons and active seasons like Christmas and Summer, when there is bustle and activity, one's aloneness is amplified by contrast. The wallflower sitting alone while everyone else is dancing. But let's leave autumn for later!

heiresschild said...

just think, many people believe a dog is man's best friend. they just didn't know loonie and spikey and the rest of the crew.

geewits said...

I've often asked my husband "Why is it we know more about animals that we will never see except in zoos than we know about the animals that live in our own backyard?" I wish Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel would have "The Life of Squirrels." Where do they go when it rains? I have so many questions. I love squirrels. I sw a mother with four young'uns the other day and it was so cute. I will go and read your links now.

Lorraine said...

ahhh they are soooo cute

Evalinn said...

LGS, I suppose. We only have one kind and they are red. I think I saw one just the other day. Was that your cousin?

Odat said...

Congrats on getting a scanner...and reminding me that I must get one...to scan all my travel pics that I have...Damn, I keep forgetting!!!!
Nice lil pics of the squirrels...
Peace

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

sylvia,
I can be generous and say that dogs are good too but hey, I don't have to scoop up squirrel poop!

geewits,
Very true. BBC does a lot of nature shows about animals in our own backyards but haven't seen anything like that on Discovery.

Lorraine,
I think so.

Evalinn,
Yeah, red it is. they all claim that they are my relatives.

odat,
Scan and show. We wait with baited breath your post on your travels. What is baited breath anyway?

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