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Chelsea & Squirrels

A Squirrel Love Story♡

On July 3rd, 2018, right before Independence Day, Summer The Squirrel first visited my balcony. It's been 4 years!!! It's just been AMAZING!!! However, I couldn't celebrate it with her since I've been visiting Japan for the first time in 3 years, so I decided to write a letter for her :)

My Baby Summer & Me Chelsea🐿️💗🥰

Here is the letter:

Dear Summer,

It's been 4 years since you first visited me. 4 years, buddy! I couldn't believe it when I saw a squirrel on my balcony. I had wanted to have squirrels here but no one had visited me even though there are sooo many squirrels in the area! You are my very first balcony squirrel. I will never forget the excitement.

Since then, you visited me pretty much every single day. One time, you didn't show up for 3 days, which was the longest ever, and I was worried, but you must have been busy preparing for your babies' arrival. 

You've taught me so much and you've shown me how much squirrels can love me. The day you first let me touch you, the day you first let me pet you, the day you took a peanut from my mouth for the first time...so many amazing experiences. One of the most memorable moments is when you brought your babies for the first time and you made it happen on my birthday. How did you know about my birthday? And you showed me how to discipline your babies by licking your babies' bodies and spanking one of your baby's faces. It was a priceless gift for me.

Anyway, there are so many great memories with you that I can't recount them all here. And I'm sorry that I can't celebrate the 4-year anniversary with you. But I wanted to tell you that I love you so much and I really appreciate every single visit. Especially after watching Perri on Disney plus, surviving for 4 years in the wild is incredible, and moreover, visiting me for 4 years continuously has just been amazing. I hope you continue to visit for as long as possible. Stay safe and healthy and I'm looking forward to seeing you in a few months.

Love,

Your human mom Chelsea

Here are the related videos:

My baby Summer looking after her babies

Why Do Squirrels Grind Their Teeth? It's called bruxing (from bruxism) Are they angry?

Just like us humans, squirrels have facial expressions. They smile when they eat and they have look serious when they hear warnings.

One day, I saw this face. One of my balcony squirrels, Summer, did this when she looked relaxed. 

Summer is grinding her teeth.

Summer is grinding her teeth.

Here is the video of her lazy day:



She looked more angry than happy and relaxed, so I asked my fellow squirrel admirers why this might be:

https://twitter.com/SublimeSquirrel/status/1233512723268489221



Here are the answers:
1. Squirrels do this when they're relaxed.

2. Squirrels do this when they're in pain.

I know that these are contradictory emotions, so you need to figure out which one it is from their posture and context clues.

 3. Squirrels are constantly grinding their teeth when they eat, and they even grind their teeth in their sleep because of growing pains.

The third reason makes sense, but I still can't associate the face Summer made with a feeling of relaxation! Anyway, I'm so happy I found out that she wasn't angry at me.  I guess this is one of the squirrels' relaxed facial expressions and I’ll just have to get used to it! :)

Thank you for reading! Have a squirreltastic day!

Amazing Disabled Squirrel Rabina

Amazing Disabled Squirrel Rabina

It's already been for a few years since I saw Rabina for the first time. I don't know what happened to her but her front paw and tail are missing. I remember it was shocking because it was also my first time to see such squirrels.

Since then, I see her once in a while. She is very cautious so usually she runs away, but occasionally she comes to me and takes snacks from me :)

Rabina+the+Squirrel

 

Every time I see her, I feel relieved and happy. It can be really tough in the wild, but she's been surviving and she is amazingly energetic! I've seen her fighting -- she's ferocious :), being a mama -- I saw her mama teats, but also when she's running around & climbing trees.

Mama Rabina

Mama Rabina

Mama Rabina

Mama Rabina

 

Every time I see her, she shows me that life is not too bad. She makes me think that I want to be strong like her. And she reminds me that I'm lucky to have both my legs. Like many women, I sometimes complain about how my legs look, but no matter how they look, I am grateful that they are healthy.

 

You can watch her here:

↓↓↓

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs2ExlI5nrw