Baby flying squirrels. Now?? Seriously??
rmb...@istar.ca
along our laneway on Monday, mostly some big limbs that had fallen
from a huge old dead elm tree and one standing broken-off trunk from a
few feet away. I took these "logs" back to the house and cut them
into blocks on my sawbuck. The chainsaw was giving me fits so in
between the cutting I had to replace the air filter and the gas
filter. Between dealing with the aggravation of a chainsaw not
working right and the unseasonably hot weather, by the time I got the
beast running properly and the blocks cut I was hot and grumpy and
said heck with it, I'll pile the blocks later when it gets cooler. So
around 5:30 p.m. I went back out to tidy up the pile. When I picked
up one of the blocks I see laying there 2 tiny baby mammals, and
thought oh geez, just what I need, more stupid mice. I set them aside
and picked up more blocks much more carefully this time. A third
"baby mouse". I was thinking I hope Mama's around here somewhere,
I'll make a nest by the blocks and hope she comes to get them.
I picked up one of these "mice" and held it in my palm. It rolled
over on its back, squeaked, and waved its feet. Wait a second...mice
don't have skin flaps between the front and hind legs!! What
the....?? I quickly scooped up the other two and headed in to the
house to get a container and towel, and they started to liven up a bit
in the heat of my hand. Straight away I got on the phone to Sandy
Pines Wildlife Center for advice for what to do with these wee
critters. Fortunately they have a volunteer driver in Inverary and I
arranged to meet her at the hardware store parking lot to hand over
these babies, now tucked into a small cardboard box in a hand towel
with one of those disposable handwarmers underneath to keep them warm.
I got a text an hour later that they were in the care of a volunteer
who could feed them every few hours.
I am astounded. Baby flying squirrels, with their eyes not even open
yet, on the last day of September?? I don't cut wood in spring or
summer because some critter could be nesting in a dead tree, and even
in the fall I check for holes in trees and will leave those as they
can be used for nesting. Had I found these babies earlier in the day
I would have searched for the hollow block, put in some soft bedding,
and rigged up the block where I had taken the log in hopes that Mama
would come back looking for them. But it was getting near dark and
the temps were dropping, so I'm hoping that now that they are in the
hands of the professionals these little duffers will survive. I just
feel bad knowing that some poor mama lactating flying squirrel has
suffered both the loss of her home and babies. I am wondering if this
is yet another fluke due to climate change.
Rose-Marie
fbrodo fbrodo
What an interesting story and fine pictures.
Fenja
------ Original Message ------
From: rmb...@istar.ca
To: natur...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 2nd 2024, 14:56
Subject: [NatureList] Baby flying squirrels. Now?? Seriously??
So here's what happened: I was gathering a load of firewood from along our laneway on Monday, mostly some big limbs that had fallen from a huge old dead elm tree and one standing broken-off trunk from a few feet away. I took these "logs" back to the house and cut them into blocks on my sawbuck. The chainsaw was giving me fits so in between the cutting I had to replace the air filter and the gas filter. Between dealing with the aggravation of a chainsaw not working right and the unseasonably hot weather, by the time I got the beast running properly and the blocks cut I was hot and grumpy and said heck with it, I'll pile the blocks later when it gets cooler. So around 5:30 p.m. I went back out to tidy up the pile. When I picked up one of the blocks I see laying there 2 tiny baby mammals, and thought oh geez, just what I need, more stupid mice. I set them aside and picked up more blocks much more carefully this time. A third "baby mouse". I was thinking I hope Mama's around here somewhere, I'll make a nest by the blocks and hope she comes to get them. I picked up one of these "mice" and held it in my palm. It rolled over on its back, squeaked, and waved its feet. Wait a second...mice don't have skin flaps between the front and hind legs!! What the....?? I quickly scooped up the other two and headed in to the house to get a container and towel, and they started to liven up a bit in the heat of my hand. Straight away I got on the phone to Sandy Pines Wildlife Center for advice for what to do with these wee critters. Fortunately they have a volunteer driver in Inverary and I arranged to meet her at the hardware store parking lot to hand over these babies, now tucked into a small cardboard box in a hand towel with one of those disposable handwarmers underneath to keep them warm. I got a text an hour later that they were in the care of a volunteer who could feed them every few hours. I am astounded. Baby flying squirrels, with their eyes not even open yet, on the last day of September?? I don't cut wood in spring or summer because some critter could be nesting in a dead tree, and even in the fall I check for holes in trees and will leave those as they can be used for nesting. Had I found these babies earlier in the day I would have searched for the hollow block, put in some soft bedding, and rigged up the block where I had taken the log in hopes that Mama would come back looking for them. But it was getting near dark and the temps were dropping, so I'm hoping that now that they are in the hands of the professionals these little duffers will survive. I just feel bad knowing that some poor mama lactating flying squirrel has suffered both the loss of her home and babies. I am wondering if this is yet another fluke due to climate change. Rose-Marie -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NatureList" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to naturelist+...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/naturelist/20241002145600.103061gcab0dc30g%40webmail.ca.inter.net.
I Macaulay
Ian Macaulay Carp, Ontario
Don't Forget to Save the Stamps
Frederick W. Schueler
> I got so fed up of trying to keep my chain saws working that I
> decided to abandon the things.
> I bought an electric battery operated unit. Tiny at 14 inches and slow,
> So slow, cuts like a wee Poulan but slower. However it starts every
> time without a hassle and lasts about an hour of run time (Just a guess
> as I have yet to run out of battery before charging) I would not
> recommend this to anyone cutting for a seasons firewood, but for kicking
> about it does the trick.
Buckthorns, with battery-powered chain saws. At the time of the 1998 Ice
Storm, Aleta's parents gave us a gas saw, but through the decades it
proved to need to be repaired every time we needed to use it, as well as
producing lots of noise and stink when it was running.
When you're cutting wood along with someone with a gas saw, you often
find that the next time you do this with them, they've purchased a
battery saw.
fred.
------------------------------------------------------------
---------Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad ------------
Fragile Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/
6 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
------------------------------------------------------------
rmb...@istar.ca
that I have to work with, an electric just won't cut it. I had two
huge oak trees die a couple of years ago (I'm crying about that,
losing these huge mature old trees is like losing old friends) and my
16 inch won't be able to cut through the bigger trunks. If our friend
can't get over to cut them into slabs I'll have to rent a 20 inch
sawI'll probably have enough for this winter with the oak that fell
across the laneway and the dead pines and spruces plus some other
smaller hardwood trees.
Chainsaws only have a limited lifespan, they do hard work for such a
small engine. I am thankful for all the youtube "how to" videos, they
have saved me a lot of $money$, don't have to take it to the shop
every time something goes wrong with it. I'm starting to feel my age
though, and looking at pellet stoves. The problem with those is that
you have to run a fan to keep the pellets burning. I am hoping that
they come with a suitable combined pellet/wood stove soon. Another
option is hiring one of these young lads that send out appeals for
work on our community facebook pages to give me a hand hauling some of
the heavy stuff out of the bush.
Rose-Marie
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "NatureList" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
> send an email to naturelist+...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit
>
rmb...@istar.ca
> Amazing find. I am also amazed at your patience.
action! There is some kicking the saw, throwing of blocks, all
accompanied by some very loud and very unladylike language. Next is
stomping in the door, slamming it, and growling "I need that d****d
computer!" to google up whatever problem is plaguing me at the time.
George can attest to my short German/Hungarian/Croatian temper and a
certain lack of patience.
Rose-Marie