I adore nearly every animal with the exception of two creatures: Catfish and squirrels.
You may be thinking, “You’re crazy, Julie. Squirrels are adorable.”
"Would You Like a Bite?"
Yes they are cute. But they are also unpredictable, beady-eyed and a little too friendly at times.
Ninja Squirrel!
I suppose I should explain my issue with squirrels.
During college I worked as a campus tour guide for UCF. I would take prospective students and their parents around campus, highlighting important buildings and answering questions.
One time a father asked me what I disliked the most about UCF.
I answered, “The squirrels.” He laughed and asked me why. I explained that the squirrels were crazy and would stalk you for food since they were overfed by the students.
About 30 minutes later, we were walking by one of the dorms on campus and we heard a chirping noise. As we all looked up to see what was causing the commotion, a squirrel came falling down right in the middle of our tour group.
Eeeeeee!
I took off running as the same dad I previously talked to about squirrels screamed the f-word nice and loud.
Once we all reconvened, the dad said, “Man, you weren’t kidding about the squirrels on this campus, were you?”
No sir.
(Just FYI, the squirrel was okay and got up and ran away after about two seconds of lying on the ground, stunned.)
Well, today my issue with the unpredictability of squirrels was reinforced yet again on my morning walk with Sadie.
It must be mating season, because all of the squirrels around the lake by our apartment are coupled up and acting especially nutty.
About 20 minutes into our walk, Sadie and I passed a tall tree. Two squirrels were chasing each other around the trunk and as they came off the trunk to cross the side walk, they literally scurried underneath Sadie’s torso.
I thought my dog was going to pee herself on the spot.
I screamed, the woman behind us jumped about three feet in the air and Sadie, once she got over the shock, jumped around in front of me like it was Christmas.
Breakfast
Holy squirrel overload! Let’s move on to breakfast, shall we?
Wednesday Breakfast
Though not as exciting as the possibly rabid squirrels, breakfast was pretty darn delicious.
Today I made myself a yogurt bowl that included:
- Cold oatmeal
- Greek yogurt
- Granny Smith apple chunks
- Sliced strawberries
Take a Bite!
The tart apples made this dish.
I can’t wait to make my first apple pie when the air gets a little cooler!
Question of the Morning
- Are there any animals that make you feel a little uncomfortable?
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I don’t really like many animals (except dogs) but squirrels make me ueasy too. So do cats!
I, too, hate squirrels. And yes, I use “hate” strongly here. And pretty much for the same reason – they were always on campus at ECU and I was afraid they’d fall on my head.
Squirrels for sure! My husbands always points them out to me for a good laugh. There was also a problem at University of Nebraska, where I attended undergrad. They seriously freaked me out. Ew.
I also went to the University of Nebraska and I swear that I never noticed a squirrel problem! I do, however, think they are cute, so that probably explains it! I am comfortable with all mammals that I’ve met so far. I really dislike geese and turkeys!
Spiders and any kind of reptiles…I like my animals fluffy, not scaly
That’s hysterical! I laughed out loud reading this! 🙂
My boyfriend wants to get a ferret. He read they are like cats – my first true love – but I can’t help think they remind me of RATS. It’s my new animal fear. I’m also deathly afraid of frogs.
Not really an animal- but I am TERRIFIED of praying mantis(s). I had no idea how to even spell that I had to look it up ..hehe.. but seriously those things are the most freaky things in the world!!
i don’t really love birds…they are kind of weird and i don’t feel comfortable at all around them!
my grandma’s the same way. she had a chicken fly in her hair & get caught when she was younger & has been scarred ever since!
Koda & I had a couple squirrel encounters on our wog this morning, too!
But the grey squirrel is the state animal of NC, so there isn’t much I can do about it. What an awesome state animal to have, right? HA.
The squirrel is our state animal? Seriously??
I HATE pigeons! Just spend some time in NYC and you will hate them too. They have no sense of direction, I swear. I dodged a pigeon just about everyday when I worked in NYC. Squirrels are nothing compared to gosh darn pigeons! Whew, I just got a little worked up. 🙂
I love squirrels. 🙂
Ok don’t laugh but I’m TERRIFIED of butterflies.
This is SO funny. I think squirrels on all college campuses are just nut jobs. I go to Clemson in SC and lemme tell you, squirrels approach you as if you’re one of them. It’s so odd because I grew up in the North and in somewhat of a foresty area and squirrels don’t come near you. It must just be that college atmosphere haha.
But my roommate and I were walking into the library this morning (yup, I’m still here, be jealous) and there was one dancing around the garbage can by the stairs and we swiftly walked nearby. And it stared at us…and looked ready to pounce. Needless to say we had the same exact discussion a couple of hours ago about how scary these animals are….they rival cats in my opinion 🙂
BAHAHAH….I literally LOLed at this post. Squirrels are seriously creepy!
I despise SLOTHS. They gross/creep me out to no end!!
Oh my gosh, your squirrel experiences are too funny! They are very unpredictable lil guys.
I hate geese. And apparently the feeling is mutual, as they have run after me and attacked me 4 times this summer while I have been running by them, minding my own business. They hiss, I start sprinting, and they proceed to run after me, flapping their wings and snapping their beaks within mere inches of me, even after I am out of their “territory.” Pure hatred of geese.
hilarious story! any idea if the kid ended up enrolling?
haha i have no idea!
Cats – I break out in bad rashes from being around them and so I’ve avoided them as much as I can.
But this has also led me to be extremely uncomfortable around them. I never know if they will be nice, mean, friendly, hissy…they are just so unpredictable!
I love squirrels! I am that person that will cause a 10 car pile up to slam on the breaks and keep from running one over. They are very unpredictable though and will change direction right in the middle of the street making it near impossible to miss them. I’m convinced they have a death wish.
I hate snakes. They freak me out moving around with no legs. It’s just not right.
Squirrels creep me out too! At my university campus, there are tons of them and they’re all super bold and have no fear! They run around all day jumping out and scaring people, and eating from garbage cans and trying to get into people’s house. It got so bad the my housemates and I had to keep our stinky garbage in our tiny apartment and close our windows in the summer because they chewed through our screens twice and got into the apartment! They’re definitely a nuisance! Or like Carrie Bradshaw says, they’re just rats with cuter outfits 😛
Ack…birds! Mostly seagulls and geese…just too unpredictable and bold for my liking. (i.e. a deep fear that a gull will peck my eyes out for my french fry)
Hi Julie,
I have been reading your blog for a while now, and have not posted a lot, but I enjoy checking in on you everyday. Anyways, I was watching the show Unwrapped on Food Network last night. There is a store in Phoenix that is called PB Loco. They sell an obscene amount of different flavored peanut butters. The store made me think of you 🙂 Just thought I’d let you know as you are p.b. LOCO! Have a great day!
thanks so much for thinking of me kaleigh! off to check out this pb loco stuff you speak of! yummm.
Catfish and Squirrels…LOL LOL Ahhh, that cracks me up, I don’t know why 🙂
I hate roaches…also, ducks freak me out. I think they’re cute, but I don’t like it when they swarm at a duck park…I feel like they’re all about to attack me!
Oh geez, that would make me hate squirrels too.
I wrote a post about this on my blog but I DESPISE birds, especially pigeons! I freak out everytime they come flying at me.. which is often.
I think squirrels are crazy as well! I always feel like they’re going run right at me when I am jogging around the neighborhood.
My dogs also jump around when they see squirrels lol!
Squirrels are so cute, but they would probably annoy me too, if I had experiences like that 🙂
Well, I hate bugs.
Since I’m a veterinary medicine student, I really have to be comfortable around all animals
Ha ha, that so funny about the squirrels. I don’t think we have many squirrels out here in AZ. I’m not a huge fan of pigeons. I don’t like the noise they make or how they always cluster around looking for food.
*Not proud of this* but, this morning on the NY subway, I pretended to not have a napkin or tissue so that I wouldn’t have to kill a GIANT bug. Do they even get to count as animals?? Then, for the rest of the train ride I couldn’t blow my nose, because that would give away that I had tissues the whole time. Sad, indeed.
Squirrels are so cute!!! The ones at my college (in Sarasota) were suicidal. They jumped in front of cars all the time.. I swear everyday there would be roadkill squirrels outside 🙁
I’m terrified of snakes. Any sort of reptile makes me uneasy actually.. ugh
There’s really no animal that freaks me out- but I do have a funny squirrel story.
When I was in high school, somehow my DAD, brought a damn baby squirrel in the house (I guess it had gotten hurt doing what squirrels do? Who knows.) ANYWAY, yeah- so here’s this squirrel in our HOUSE! I think my Dad wanted to make sure it was OK before letting it outside again….
My memory is a little hazy on the two whole days that thing was in the house, but I do remember one morning- that bi**h crawled up my bed comforter and latched onto my chest and tried to bite me!!
I was so pissed off, I threw him off and he thudded to the floor (whatever. he deserved it). Did that deter him? Oh,no- he simply climbed back up (leapt is the most appropriate term) and started biting again.
I grabbed that sucker by its furry body and walked into my parents room and started crying, asking why we had a damn squirrel in our house and exclaimed we needed to get rid of it.
LOL.
I know. This sounds too absurd to be true. But it is. I promise you me and my family do NOT welcome wildlife into our homes on a regular basis. I think it was a one-time “do gooder” thing. HAHA!!!
Haha squirrels are insane. Yesterday one ran straight at my car in the middle of the road, we both stopped and sat there staring at each other.
Haha love this story. I hate squirrels because they remind me of rats and mice! I have a huge huge phobia. Maybe because a mouse crawled on my leg in a movie theatre!!!!
I don’t really like birds. They’re not friendly or lovable at all! AND they poop and pee at the same time- grooooss.
I literally LOL-ed at your squirrel stories! When I am walking with my dog, all of a sudden he will try to sprint to the nearest squirrel, almost taking me out! Squirrels are nuts and I’d rather they stay away, haha.
i laughed out loud when i read the dad’s response. too funny!!
Geese!!! I went to college on a campus surrounded by geese, and one day a mother goose was protecting her eggs and I must have walked too close to it on my way to class. The mother goose jumped up on my shoulders, started pecking at my head, and flapping it’s wings like crazy. Scariest/most embarrassing moment of my entire life!
I dislike squirrels too…that’s so funny. Last week I brought my son inside to play because I swore one was going to attack us in the front yard. It was bouncing and squealing at me. Another time when my son was an infant one ran into the garage and was running all over my car while I was holding him with a blanket over him! I am not a fan!
Eww they were all over FSU when I was a student. I hate squirrels too! No part of me find them cute lol.
haha that is such a funny story! there were a ton of squirrels around WPI’s campus too. One time a squirrel came into my apt thru the window and sniffed my cat who was sleeping then ran back out!
There is a car that’s always parked just down the street from out house….windows always down…. The other day i drove by and there were two squirrels jumping in and out of it. I couldn’t help but think what those people’s reactions are going to be when they’re driving down the street and a squirrel attacks them from the backseat 🙂
eek!
TOO FUNNY about the squirrels, I’m laughing out loud!!! I love animals too. I’m usually a little weary of touching rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, anything rodent-like, because I really don’t trust that they won’t bite unexpectedly! I owned a bunny when I was younger, and he was great, loved me, I loved him–but he was evil bunny towards my sister! He would bite her and pee on her…while loving the rest of the family!
hahah.. this post had me cracking up! i never thought of squirrels in such a way. spiders creep me out, are they considered animals?
squirrels! i encountered a pair at our hotel shuttle stop in orlando…they literally stalked us for our breakfast bars and felt like they were chasing us and were very bold and came super close. we felt stupid for running away from such a tiny thing but we were freaked out! hahahaha.
dude! I wrote a song about evil squirrels in HS! No, really, I did! http://silvercpu.com/etcfiles/evilsquirrels.wmv
I worked in the Dean’s office in college so I was always out running errands. I was walking right in front of the Admin building when a squirrel popped straight up out of one of the deep campus trash cans…so I screamed. Loud. High-pitched… And ducked. (???) Natural reaction I guess? Yeah…squirrels and I don’t get along.
I am cracking up at your story! I can’t think of any animal I freak over besides insects.
A few months ago, I was riding my bike and a squirrel ran out in front of me. I didn’t have time to react and ran over it(on accident of course!) with my front tire. The thing shot up and got STUCK in between my clip in shoes and pedal. I have never been so horrified in my life! You better believe I brake for squirrels now 🙂
omg!!!!
i really don’t like rodents. squirrels, chipmunks, hamsters, etc. YUCK. snakes i can handle. but rodents? ewww! and ps squirrels on college campuses are ridiculously crazy!
I was running at night one time and a skunk scurried out from the tall grass on the side of the road. It crossed so close in front of me that it nearly ran over my toes. It scared me half to death. Thank goodness I didn’t get sprayed!.
Your squirrel post almost made me pee my pants! Soooo funny!
Black squirrels are my second favorite type of animal… Just don’t ask me to explain that!
I am afraid of birds, and i’m not ashamed at all. What’s worse, they can sense my fear. Once, I was jogging home from a swim practice, earbuds in. As I was rocking out to something awesome (probably Britney…), I felt a breeze close to my ear. I turned around to see a HUGE BLACK BIRD TRYING TO MATE WITH MY WET PONYTAIL! I screamed and the rest is a blur. I think that warrants fear/a permanent feeling of paranoia around all birds. Plus, don’t their sharp neck movements and creepy eyes weird anyone else out?
I will never look or think about a Squirrel the same again, after my friend informed me that they are infact, little more than Rats with a fluffy tail (or dressed up in a fur coat, as she put it). A rodent- a rat…. I will never think they are cute again!
B