Well....they do have fur coats. ;)

LOL Marilyn! And those are the only kind of fur coats I like to see. The ones that are still alive and running around.

Animals that must survive harsh winters, like squirrels, work hard in the fall to put on fat for the winter.

Elly: Do you know if the birds do the same? I notice every year that I don't see birds much once the berries are ripe from late summer to early fall. The yard is fairly bare of them until the jays return around Halloween.. I always had a hunch that they may get a hankering for foods with higher sugar fat content just befoere winter arrives. Of course, I think that this also coincides with moulting for most birds.

Yes, they do, but not just for winter, for migration.

We lost one of our little furry-tails today...so sad. He attempted his regular jump from our pecan tree to the roof of the house next door...we've watched him do it a hundred times...but today he misjudged and fell...I cried for hours. My DH made a little coffin for him and we had a small "service", and he joined our pets and other little "babies" that we've lost through the years in the spot by the edge of the woods out back. It has been a sad day.We will miss him so.

Kathy

Vonyon I add suet cakes to the daily feeding during all the cold months to give the birds that don't migrate some extra fuel. Even the sparrows manage to balance on the feeder to fuel up.

Kathy - I'm sorry to hear about the loss of one of your furry wildlife friends. When you watch them everyday, you sort of become attached to them. We had a little white squirrel show up in September of 2004, who I named Whitey, (very original), by mid October, he was coming every day for seeds and peanuts. When I returned from being out of town over Thanksgiving, he was gone, I think a hawk must have gotten him. He was so vulnerable with his white coat. But I felt so so sad. Here is a picture of him:
{{gwi:1350064}}

Thanks Doggiemom.....I know some folks think its absurd,in fact downright silly,to react this way at the loss of something as insignificant as a little ol' fox squirrel. But, he was such a cutie..... and a daredevil. He was so much smaller than all the other squirrels we have here, and to top it off, he had somehow lost nearly half his tail. We called him Stubby, and he was so much fun to watch. I miss him a lot. We still have 7 others here to keep us entertained, but I will always miss little Stub.Thanks again..and thanks for the cute photo....adorable.

Kathy

Kathy...
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, I love all the Squirrels in my yard too. I have 2 feeding stations for them & they love it, check them twice a day to make sure they have plenty to eat.
I have an Akita & German Sheppard Mix & go out with them when the go out to make sure they don't bother my my little furry friends