Meet our “girl squirrel” Chubby. Chubby is one of the many squirrels and chipmonks that live in and around our yard. Chubby is a “momma” squirrel and has raised several babies over the years.
Chubby gets her name because she is always fatter than the other squirrels. Doesn’t matter what season it is, she is always on the chunky side and that doesn’t bother her a bit. Chubby has had a rough life, as evidenced from the scar on her back and her extremely short tail. Yet, she doesn’t let her shortcomings hinder her in any way.
Chubby has been busy on this birdhouse, trying to enlarge the holes for quite some time. Yesterday I was able to catch her in the act. She spent a good 30 minutes or so nawing and filing down the hole on the left and the one in the middle. Not sure if she will use the house this spring for her nest or not.
One year she used the underside of a concrete bench mold that Keith had laying on top of the carport. He had it turned over so that she was able to get in from the underside and build a most suitable nest for her babies. When they were old enough to venture out, we had a wonderful view from the kitchen door of their antics as they chased each other and played tag on top of the carport.
Chubby visits other houses in the neighborhood, too. Our friends Monica and John feed her peanuts on their patio and she can make the rounds in the cul-de-sac without touching the ground thanks to the foresight of those who planted large pin oaks and sugar maples many, many years ago.
In fact, one year she built a nest in the sugar maple above my neighbor Betty’s hot tub and Betty worried herself silly that Chubby’s urine may somehow find it’s way into her tub. Chubby’s nest was probably some 40 feet above her tub, so we all thought that was comical. We wondered how that might work out.
Chubby also likes to hang out in the trees behind our house and many times I can watch her chasing her friends (or maybe they are her enemies) round and round the trunk of the tree outside the kitchen window while I am washing dishes. She is so easy to spot because of her size and short tail. She is one big, tough mama!
Pictures taken February 26, 2012. Frames by Brandy Buffington on Two Peas in a Bucket.
Leave a Reply