Monday Musings: Emerson and Squirrels ETC

Twelve days ago, on Wednesday, October 3rd, I published an entry here on Blogger in honor of Squirrel Awareness Month, which always occurs in October. 

The photograph of a lone Eastern Gray squirrel that is atop this entry is one I took when I went for a walk in Central Park  this past Friday and the following images of a "cinnamon" squirrel are ones I took last Saturday.

I was awestruck by this creature's coloring as it was the first time I'd ever seen a squirrel who appeared to be a "red head." I thought I was seeing a Fox Squirrel, but not wanting to report '"fake news" here on Blogger, I posted my ID question, which is something I mentioned in my blog post for that evening.

As I stated in the aforementioned entry, I'm grateful to have heard back (via a tweet) from the man in charge of the Squirrel Census currently taking place in Central Park, for he informed me that the squirrel I'd seen was "probably a cinnamon highlighted eastern gray squirrel that is molting."

"A Walk in the Park"

Cambridge Press defines the idiom, "a walk in the park," as "something that is very easy to do, and usually pleasant." And indeed, my walk in Central Park yesterday was pleasant. I went there to check out the squirrels since this is Squirrel Awareness Month (as I initially mentioned in my October third entry here on Blogger) and I did not come across the "cinnamon variant" which was the type I encountered last week, but I did meet up with a Black Squirrel who can be seen in the photo atop this entry. In by gone years I've only seen this type in the winter so it was a nice surprise to see this creature frolicking amongst the pigeons...

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

.... and having some quality time alone.

According to Wiki, "The black squirrel occurs as a melanistic subgroup of both the eastern gray squirrel and the fox squirrel. Their habitat extends throughout the Midwestern United States, in some areas of the Northeastern United States, eastern Canada, and also in the United Kingdom. The overall population of black squirrels is small when compared to that of the gray squirrel. The black fur color can occur naturally as a mutation in populations of gray squirrels, but it is rare. The rarity of the black squirrel has caused many people to admire them, and the black squirrels enjoy great affection in some places as mascots."

Central Park Squirrel Census Ends in 1 WK!

IMAGE CREDIT

I've just been reminded that the Central Park Squirrel Census will be ending a week from today on October 20th 2018.

Because it is Squirrel Awareness Month, I knew the census was taking place, but my mind, as you may have guessed, dear reader, has been preoccupied with the delays in the release of the third volume of my book series, Words In Our Beak...

SEE PRESS RELEASE

... but as I've mentioned here on Blogger in recent posts, I'm making it a point to not get discouraged re my circumstances and to (among other things) focus more than usual on squirrels during their month for awareness (which is always October). 

Certain Squirrels in NYC's Central Park (Tuesday's Truths WK 122)

There is a special looking squirrel (at least to me) who seems to be a loner spending time on the grassy area on the northwest side of Oak Bridge in Central Park; as seen in the photo atop this entry and in the pictures directly below.

As of this entry, I have not learned the exact ID for him/her but here is what the Squirrel Census Commander has to say about it:

"Most likely this specimen is an eastern gray who's color phase is between a cinnamon and black. While I've never seen one exactly like this I'm sure it's possible."

If I find out more re this creature, I will put an addendum in this entry. Meanwhile, a few yards north of this area, near The Shakespeare Gardens (which are in the vicinity of the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre)...

Squirrel Appreciation Day 2021

Today, January 21st, is the annual day to celebrate Squirrel Apppreciation Day. I've written about this holiday within a number of venues including entires on this blog.

These animals can provide a lot of entertainment when you observe them as I've done in both Central Park and Riverside Park over the years when I've encountered various types including Cinnamon Variant squirrels, Black squirrels and Eastern gray squirrels.

On July 8th 2020, shortly after NYC started to begin easing up on lockdown restrictions (many of which were subsequently put back in place) which had been in effect since March due  to the devastating consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, I had the chance to watch squirrels from my window for they began to visit the Ailanthus Trees in my buildings courtyard and as you might surmise from the photo-ops atop this entry, their antics gave me many reaons to smile during those isolating times.