To help celebrate this special birthday, I decided to take a series of photos of 40 garden objects. This photo series was inspired by the blog Things Organized Neatly. My arrangements are not arranged as neatly as many photos on that blog, but you get the idea.

Here’s photo #2 – 40 nuts nibbled by squirrels:

Nuts Nibbled by Squirrels

Check out the 40 garden object photos from other weeks:

• Week 1 – my Garden Tools
• Week 3 – Green Leaves

Share Your 40 Garden Objects Photos!

During Garden for Wildlife month, I’m going to keep taking photos of 40 garden objects. Would you like to join me? What will you photograph? Share your photos at our Garden for Wildlife Facebook page for everyone to see.

And if you haven’t already certified your yard as wildlife-friendly, certify your yard with National Wildlife Federation this month!

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! California is home to ten species of these cute and mischievous critters, including the state’s namesake animal: the California Ground Squirrel. In celebration of Squirrel Appreciation Day, here are some California squirrel stories that show why the Golden State’s squirrels are the cutest [and most intrepid] squirrels in the world.

1. Curious squirrel causes 11,000 resident to lose power in Berkeley and Oakland: In October, a curious squirrel exploring transmission equipment at a PG&E substation caused thousands to lose power for three hours, disrupting evening plans and causing many loyal Cal fans to miss the televised football game. “That’s impressive work for a squirrel,” admitted one business owner to Oakland North.

2. Squirrel vs. Lamborghini: A squirrel that successfully dodged a Lamborghini traveling 100 mph on a California racetrack made CNN. That was one squirrel determined not to become roadkill.

Click here to view the embedded video.

3. This squirrel knew the way to San Jose: A yellow-bellied marmot (a large ground squirrel) hitched a ride from Yosemite and was seen near a storm drain in San Jose. Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley (WCSV) and WildRescue helped capture and transport the animal back home to Tuolumne Meadows. Check out this great video from WildRescue:

Click here to view the embedded video.

4. RoboSquirrel: Researchers at UC Davis are using robotic squirrels to study the interaction between squirrels and rattlesnakes. Apparently, squirrels are quite adept at evading snakes and RoboSquirrel might help scientists figure out why. As one researcher commented. “Squirrels have a remarkable ability to move out of the way of an oncoming snake strike,” he said. Even adult squirrels that do not seem to be aware of a snake will often successfully dodge a strike.” Can’t wait for RoboSquirrel the movie!

Click here to view the embedded video.

5. Squirrel Siesta: California squirrels know how to relax. During a record heat-wave in the state this summer this squirrel took a long daily siesta.

Photo by Patricia Pierce

See more of Patricia Pierce’s photos on Flickr >>

Your Photo Could Be Here

We want one of your nature photos to be the next Photo of the Day! Share your images with our Flickr group and tag them with PhotoOfTheDay-NWF12.

Don’t have a Flickr account? It’s free and easy to create one.
 

Photo by Flickr member Bob Daveant (daveantphoto)

See more of Bob Daveant’s photos on Flickr >>

Your Photo Could Be Here

We want one of your nature photos to be the next Photo of the Day! Share your images with our Flickr group and tag them with PhotoOfTheDay-NWF12.

Don’t have a Flickr account? It’s free and easy to create one.
 

Your Photo Could Be Here

We want one of your nature photos to be the next Photo of the Day! Share your images with our Flickr group and tag them with PhotoOfTheDay-NWF12.

Don’t have a Flickr account? It’s free and easy to create one.
 

The following photos were donated by past participants in the National Wildlife® Photo Contest. The deadline to enter this year’s contest is July 16, 2012. 

American Goldfinch

Goldfinches are among the strictest vegetarians in the bird world, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallowing an occasional insect. (Photo: Michael Henry)

White-Tailed Deer

Though almost entirely herbivorous, eating a wide variety of plants, white-tailed deer have been known to opportunistically feed on nesting songbirds and field mice. (Photo: Trish Satkofsky)

Monarch Butterfly

Unlike the larvae that only eat milkweed, adult monarchs feed on a wide variety of nectar bearing flowers. They will visit many different kinds of flowers in their search for food. (Photo: Dave Hawkins)

Eastern Cottontail

Cottontails feed mainly on herbaceous plants such as clovers, grasses, and low broad-leafed weeds in summer, and buds, twigs, and bark in winter. (Photo: Chuanxiao Li)

Lubber Grasshopper

Eastern lubbers, like most all grasshoppers, can regurgitate recently consumed plant material. This regurgitant is mostly liquid and has a dark brown color and is commonly referred to as ‘tobacco spit.’ (Photo: Pamela Wanamaker)

  Gray Squirrel

On very rare occasions, when its usual plant food sources are scarce, Eastern gray squirrels will prey upon insects, frogs, small rodents, and small birds, their eggs and young. (Photo: Colleen Faupel)

LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES! Enter your “sexiest” photos

in this year’s National Wildlife® Photo Contest. Deadline: July 16, 2012.

Craig Newmark's love for squirrels inspired me to draw him one!

That’s why I got so excited when I learned that Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and lover of squirrels, wanted to donate $1 to National Wildlife Federation for every mention of #squirrels4good. What a perfect example of celebrating wildlife that both amuses us and keeps us company in life!

So if squirrels inspire Craig, what inspires you?

We’re encouraging you to tweet what animals you love seeing in the wild while using the hashtag #squirrels4good!

Attracting backyard visitors that you love

Part of the reason why many of us garden for wildlife and celebrate Garden for Wildlife Month is because it increases the chances we’ll see those animals that bring joy to our backyards and balconies.  Whether you’re trying to see more hummingbirds, bats or butterflies, many species use the habitats we create for them and will coexist peacefully when allow them some room.

So please tell us the wildlife you love seeing by doing one of the following things:

• Share Facebook photos or stories about your favorite wildlife on our Facebook wall (using #squirrels4good).
• Tweet photos or stories about your favorite wildlife (using #squirrels4good).
• Draw, write or paint something in honor of your nature visitors.

#Squirrels4Good are everywhere – can you help me help @nwf reach 10K mentions & I’ll give $10K? youtube.com/watch?v=IUqP8T…

— craignewmark (@craignewmark) May 1, 2012

Craig’s Pledge:

“Here’s the deal, for each time someone uses the hashtag, #Squirrels4Good on Twitter or on my Facebook page  or NWF’s facebook page, I’ll give $1 to the National Wildlife Federation up to $5K. I will also donate $1 for each new follower I get over the next couple of weeks.”

To celebrate #Squirrels4Good, here are a few things that make squirrels happy and set them free:

To Stop and Smell the Roses

A Nap in the Park

Ice Cream Cones

The Perfect Photo

The Last Cookie in the Cookie Jar

To Watch Funny Cat Videos

A Mid-Afternoon Stretch (and Snack)

To Squeak Up for What They Believe In!

How You Can Celebrate Squirrels

• Tweet using #Squirrels4Good or post about squirrels on NWF or Craig Newmark’s Facebook page.
• Share and re-pin your favorite squirrel photos on Pinterest
• Turn your garden into a squirrel-friendly Certified Wildlife Habitat with NWF

May is Garden for Wildlife Month and this year National Wildlife Federation is asking you to vote for the backyard critter you think should represent the month. The winning animal will help inspire hundreds of thousands of people around the world to garden with the needs of wildlife in mind.

Here are this year’s contenders:

Monarch Butterfly

Pollinators like butterflies are on the decline worldwide so they are relying on friends like you to help them thrive.

VOTE

Get ready for Garden for Wildlife Month by turning your backyard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat site today!

Hummingbird

With over 20 hummingbird species in the United States, there’s sure to be one in your region that you can attract by planting red, tubular flowers.

VOTE

Keep up-to-date on Garden for Wildlife Month by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and flickr.

 Gray Squirrel

The gray squirrel certainly makes for a busy backyard visitor by hoarding its food throughout the year, and then relying on landmarks to retrieve it.

VOTE

 Are you a lazy gardener? Read the Slacker’s Guide to Gardening for Wildlife.

American Goldfinch

Attract these colorful, social feeders with some of their favorite foods, such as nyjer seeds.

VOTE

And he didn't leave to play in California next year. (Wikimedia Commons | Sector001)

It’s the only thing about the Cards’ season that was stranger than Kyle Lohse becoming a solid starter.

It’s a squirrel.

The card commemorates Game 4 of the National League Division Series, when a bushy-tailed rodent scampered in front of the hitter, Cardinals’ utilityman Skip Schumaker, just before a pitch. Umpire Angel Hernandez called it a ball, and Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt and manager Charlie Manuel argued, because everyone knows that a squirrel on the field means an automatic timeout, right?

Anyway, the so-called ‘Rally Squirrel’ became a folk hero in St. Louis (Twitter account here; 27,000 followers) and the most famous baseball-adjacent small mammal since David Eckstein.

With Squirrel Appreciation Day just past and Groundhog Day already upon us, we thought it was a good time to salute Rally Squirrel and take a look at some other notable baseball rodents.

Unless otherwise linked, all nickname information is from the Don Zminda’s “From Abba Dabba to Zorro: The World of Baseball Nicknames.”

Orval Overall had a 2.23 career ERA. (Wikimedia Commons | EIC)

1) Roy Sievers, ‘Squirrel’

Slow, slugging former Senators’ great supposedly got this nickname as a basketball player in high school because he “(hung) around the basket like a squirrel around a tree.” Though a citation eludes me, I believe he supped on nuts, seeds and cones throughout the spring as well, hoarding and burying food so that he might revisit his caches years later.

2) Orval Overall, ‘The Big Groundhog’

Early 20^th century Cubs’ pitcher got this nickname because he was an agriculture student. Also: had a dense grey undercoat and digging claws. Alas, groundhogs may now be emerging earlier due to global warming, to their detriment—even worse than if Orval had reported for Spring Training in the middle of a Chicago blizzard (tip goes to Miles Grant for that tidbit as well as parts of this post).

3) Billy Shipke, ‘Muskrat Bill’

Old timer was almost my height/weight twin, and nobody knows what made him muskrat-like. Perhaps his well-adapted swimming tail. Though even that would probably not have helped him escape calamities like the Kalamazoo River oil spill.

Pictured: Billy Shipke during Spring Training. (flickr via Wikimedia Commons | Linda Tanner)

4) Cliff Melton, ‘Mickey Mouse’

Former New York Giant was born 100 years ago last month and had big ears. I’m surprised there aren’t more nicknames in this vein.

5) Whitey Herzog, ‘The White Rat’

Famous buzzcut Hall of Fame manager got this name for his extremely light blond hair. It’s also possible that his distinctly rat-like empathy contributed to his ability to rally a ballclub.

6) Gary Gaetti, ‘The Rat’

Slugging third-baseman got his Muroidean moniker for obvious reasons. And by that, I meant that he was omnivorous and a good burrower. What did you think I meant?

7) Don Zimmer, ‘The Gerbil’

Submitted without comment.

Honorable mentions go to to ‘Bunny’ Anthony Brief and Rabbit Maranville since rabbits aren’t true rodents but are often confused as such and often referred to together as members of the same ‘superclass.’

To learn more about squirrels, check out this blog post or the red squirrel page in our Wildlife Library.  You can find tips for sending your kids to ‘Squirrel School’ at Big Backyard.

Did I miss anyone? Tweet which of these baseball rodents (including Rally Squirrel) is your favorite using the hashtag #baseballrodents.