01 May 2007

Squirrel fever

There seems to be two cultures of people: those that think that squirrels are a nuisance and those that find them adorable. Most Fairbanksans seem to fall into the first category. Winters are cold in Fairbanks, so of course squirrels like to crawl into peoples' walls and steal insulation. I'd do the same thing, so I really can't blame them. Some people have been known to set traps or shoot squirrels with BB guns. I even know somebody that shot a squirrel with a rifle, though the perpetrator admitted to feeling guilty afterwards.

Inari falls into the second category. She made a bird feeder that just happens to have a large enough opening to double as a squirrel feeder. I do think squirrels are pretty cute, but I'm not convinced that intentionally attracting them to your house is a good idea. Well... Sometimes you don't always have a say in these things. So I just accept it and use it as an opportunity to play with my telephoto lens.