You DID remember today is Squirrel Appreciation Day, right? #Wordless Wednesday #Some of my peanut pals from Council Point Park

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

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About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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52 Responses to You DID remember today is Squirrel Appreciation Day, right? #Wordless Wednesday #Some of my peanut pals from Council Point Park

  1. dawnkinster's avatar dawnkinster says:

    I’m sure my squirrels will remind me.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Laurie's avatar Laurie says:

    Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day to the #1 Squirrel Appreciator!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. OMG! Your paintings are beautiful!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Every day should be squirrel appreciation day! (Your paintings are fantastic!)

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      I agree with you Linda – right now due to the weather, I’ve not seen my Park squirrels for ten days and it will likely be another ten days or more before I see them, so I think they are not appreciating me as much as I am appreciating them. 🙂 Thank you! I am having a lot of fun with this new hobby.

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Love your drawings Linda!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Dave's avatar Dave says:

    We’re seeing the black-face Fox Squirrels with the big, bushy tails right now. They don’t seem to mind the cold temps. They also don’t sharpen the plastic like the brown squirrels do, so for that reason alone I think they’re great!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      When I lived in Canada, we only had the black squirrels and when we moved here, we could not believe the size of the brown squirrels. I’m glad those black squirrels are better behaved than your brown squirrels at your house Dave, but I’ll share this story … many years ago my grandmother had a family of black squirrels move into her attic. She was in the living room and said she heard footsteps above her head. She called in a pest removal service and the guy found a family of black squirrels and removed them for her, but she had a lot of damage from those sharp teeth! She had a big tree in her front yard and figured they got into the house that way. Don’t let those cute faces fool you!

      Liked by 2 people

      • Dave's avatar Dave says:

        Yes, they’re a determined lot no matter the color. So far it seems our challenges are only with the brown ones but I appreciate the story just to be on the lookout. You can’t blame them for doing whatever it takes to survive 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Yes, you have to watch the smaller ones too. I hope you don’t have to deal with them in your house as JP has had to do recently. I just saw a public service announcement on an animal rescue site I follow about leaving your garage door open a few feet for possums seeking shelter – we will have a -20 to -25 windchill/real feel early Friday. I am an animal lover, but draw the line there … last week a sparrow flew into the garage while I was running the car and thankfully it made a U-turn and went right back out!

        Liked by 1 person

  7. trumstravels's avatar trumstravels says:

    I LOVE your drawings Linda ! Wonderful work! Now if only winter would leave so we could sit outside and watch the squirrels! We are getting another blizzard today, likely you are in the same boat.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Susan! Have you been painting since you’re stuck inside for so long or still sorting through photos? I’m still sorting through photos from last Fall! Your weather is as bad as ours – it felt tropical out today, around 30 degrees, but we had three inches of snow and more snow tomorrow. We are going into the Deep Freeze starting weekend, worse than earlier this week, as we are part of a storm that starts in the South and clips us, so four or more inches of snow on Sunday. It is disheartening that Spring is two months away (not that the calendar date means too much).

      Liked by 2 people

      • trumstravels's avatar trumstravels says:

        Yes I have been doing some painting, I really enjoy it, I’m not good at it but I like it. It’s relaxing. I am going through my photos from our trip to Europe last Spring. I have been posting our summer adventures but haven’t don spring yet ! I really need winter to be over, we are having the type of winter we used to have years ago and it needs to stop ! lol

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Yes, I remember the France trip – Paris in the Spring! It takes a lot of time sorting through photos … I have been sorting through and just separating them for upcoming posts. Most of Fall I was two big posts ahead and now I am scrambling to get done a few days before Sunday. Yes, like the Winter of 1978 – that was a horrible Winter.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!! Hope the cuties all have a great day basking in their day. Your paintings are great, and you expressed their personalities!!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Esther – I hope they took advantage of their special day. I wish I was at the Park to load them up with peanuts during this horribly cold, snowy and icy Winter we’re having. This is even worse than last year, so I am worried about them. I know I should have made them doggy bags or left a jar of Jif and some Ritz crackers when I was there last Monday. 🙂 I’m glad you liked the paintings … it was fun creating them. I am really enjoying this hobby!

      Liked by 2 people

  9. Rebecca's avatar Rebecca says:

    Wonderful photos and delightful paintings. Your paintings give charm to the little squirrels.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Really… LOL… there’s even Squirrel Appreciation Day. Enjoyed your photos and paintings.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      The bold and brazen squirrels think every day is Squirrel Appreciation Day. I’ve had a few squirrels like that. 🙂 Thank you Monica – I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and paintings. Being stuck inside has a few benefits … more time for hobbies but my walking regimen has taken a big hit.

      Liked by 2 people

      • Yes, agree, walking next to impossible. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be frost bit weather. Let’s see. Stay warm.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        The weatherman said we’ve not had weather this cold since 2019 – I can’t remember that bout of cold weather. You stay warm and safe as well.

        Liked by 1 person

      • I believe it. We had about 3 years of really mild winters, felt like Seattle weather, more mild and on the rainy side. So, this is a shock, we had become spoiled to better weather. BUT, LOL, we’re Midwesterners, we are hunkering down. You stay safe / warm too.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Yes, we got spoiled bigtime! About 25 years ago, I thought it might be nice to move down South as they don’t deal with the harsh winters like we do here. Friends of the family who always lived in Michigan moved to Inman, South Carolina and raved how a dusting of snow was gone before you could even take out a broom to sweep it away. I’m glad I didn’t follow through with that idea given this ice storm and other cold spells and Winter-like conditions, not to mention the tornadic activity the South has experienced the past few years. Yes, we’re Midwesterners and we’ll hunker down .. overnight will be worse than today here, but the worst of this brutal cold is over by 10:00 a.m. Saturday, then we settle in for 3-5 inches of snow on Sunday. 🙂 Stay safe/warm Monica.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. The Bing wallpaper on the computer had a squirrel on it in honor of the day.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Mark's avatar Mark says:

    Love the pictures of the squirrels! Especially the paintings 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Wow, I had no idea that today was such an auspicious day! Cute paintings, Linda. What medium are you working in?

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Yes, it’s important to recognize our furry friends Janis. When I see them in the good weather, I know they think every day revolves around them. 🙂

      I’m glad you like the paintings – they were fun to draw, then paint. I’m following a new artist as Julia has been on a break due to illness. This is watercolor but this artist does her paintings loose and less precisely than Julia. We start with a “wash” and then keep layering, so this is quite different than before so I’ve had to adapt. Also, she is using hot press paper and I have only used cold press paper and I bought a lot of that as Julia usually used cold press paper. So I notice her colors blend more easily. I am enjoying this new hobby!

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Joni's avatar Joni says:

    Wow! Linda…..I love the paintings. You have talent! I can just see that children’s book now!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Joni! I am enjoying painting. Yes, an ode to Parker would be fun to think about, wouldn’t it? This is a different way to paint than I learned with Julia though, less precise and looser and using a wash and layering it. It took me a long time to draw these two, plus the scarecrow from the other day, then painting them. The scarecrow I just painted “the old way”. Julia sent an e-mail today giving an update on her landscape classes which were to be held last Fall. She has the course done, but will not be having any feedback … she has been ill and a family matter is going to keep her from having the class assignments, etc. That would be better for me … I liked the feedback, but there was a deadline to get the paintings done – that’s okay for Winter, but not so much in the nicer weather (if that ever happens again).

      Liked by 2 people

  15. Eilene Lyon's avatar Eilene Lyon says:

    I love your squirrels paintings, Linda!

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Nope I didn’t know it was squirrel appreciation day but forget that it’s your painted squirrels that is appreciated. They turned out so good Linda! What a fun hobby and you have improved so much! I can’t see what else you paint.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Well Diane, I hope no little squirrels with sad faces came a’callin’ at your back door and you didn’t know about THEIR holiday! 🙂 They were thinking “the lady feeds the birds after all!” I’m glad you like the painted squirrels – they were fun to do. I have five other paintings I’ve done and thinking of using some of them in a post, but they are all whimsical, so I’m not sure. I am enjoying this new hobby, especially since I’m not going anywhere in this horrible Winter weather … I’ve not been on a walk to/at the Park since the 12th.

      Like

  17. We didn’t have good squirrels at our Sacramento home. They were a terrible nuisance and lived in our pine trees. Brodie barked constantly at them. I’m glad you appreciate the ones in the park. Without tall trees in our yard they rarely come through the fence. Brodie nearly caught one last summer.

    Your drawings are gorgeous, Linda! 🤎

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      I have had my share of bad squirrels in the past here at the house. I was so mad once as I bought a life-sized Holly Hobbie for the backyard. She was made of wood with painted features (shoes, face, watering can) and her dress and bonnet were made of pink calico oilcloth. The bonnet was filled with cotton batting to make it look real, something I wouldn’t have known, except the squirrels chewed her feet, climbed up to her face and chewed it, then ripped open the bonnet. I got it on a Saturday at a country store, put it in the backyard and my neighbor helped me stake it securely into the ground. Sunday morning I went out and the squirrels had half-destroyed it … my neighbor was a woodworker and said he’d make her new feet and a face, but they did so much damage on Sunday afternoon, she went out Monday for garbage day. And I fed these squirrels for years, so I was even angrier. Brodie moves pretty fast at nine years old if he could almost catch a squirrel. Thank you Terri – I am having fun with this new hobby!

      Liked by 1 person

  18. ruthsoaper's avatar ruthsoaper says:

    Nice pictures and love your artwork. Happy squirrel day!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. I know you would load them up and give them all the treats they love!! But you have to stay safe and not risk going out in the icy weather. You have a talent for painting and it’s so great that you are thriving in it. Yay for retirement and doing what makes you happy!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Yes, unfortunately it is not wise right now to take chances and hopefully they don’t even descend from their nests during this brutally cold weather. Today is the last day of this extra-brutal cold, then it lessens, but wind chills/real feel readings will be below zero until February. Plus, more snow on Sunday. I know we are not alone though as over 200 million people are in the path of this storm. I am enjoying painting. I put everything away for a few weeks though. I want to get ahead on my posts again and have a special post planned for what would have been my mom’s 100th birthday, on Valentine’s Day, so I have to get the photos together for that … some are still raw images that I scanned back in 2017, sometimes I have to separate the photos, four to six on an album page and enlarge them … that’s going to take a while and I’m still sorting through last Fall’s photos. Yay for retirement!

      Like

  20. Pepper's avatar Pepper says:

    I had no idea! Now I have no excuse if I forget. 😁

    Like

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      That’s right – it is January 21st every year. 🙂 I used to have more Winter pictures from the Park before 2024-2025 Winter and this one. My squirrels are probably missing me showing up with peanuts, which I plan to do as soon as it is warmer and safer to walk … hopefully not in March.

      Like

  21. J P's avatar J P says:

    I think one of them chewed a tube and disabled my windshield washers. Sorry, but there will be no Squirrel Appreciation Day at my house. But I would be happy to charter a bus for them to go your way. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Oh no – on your new car! That’s not good, so I guess the other squirrels didn’t learn from your eviction of the first batch at the house. I can see why you would be withholding treats on their special day. Send them along – I’ll put them at the Park. I stockpiled peanuts and haven’t been out to walk at the Park for almost two weeks with this weather.

      Liked by 1 person

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