Ever since the movie, "Up," made blurting out, "squirrel," popular, I've been gathering little tidbits of information. Amazingly, the little furry critters have quite a strange mythology attached to them. Did you know that Norse mythology--ye olde stories of Thor and Odin--have a magical squirrel? Yup, it was called "Ratatoskr" and was a messenger for Odin, but mainly ran around and spread cruel gossip. Squirrels are in many cultures, though commonly as accusers--I'm probably not the only one who thinks squirrels are always throwing accusations my direction when I scare them up a tree.
Marvel comics has a "Squirrel Girl" superhero. People frequently keep them as pets. Plus, squirrels are immensely fun to watch. They are so wound up, skittish, jerky in motion and completely insane. In stories, they are the ones who jump at the slightest sound and have the attention span of an amoeba. The portrayal in "Over the Hedge" is my favorite of all squirrels--in particular, the part where the squirrel drinks an energy drink and then can move like the Flash.
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I think the joy of watching squirrels is because there is pure innocence in them. You can't help but laugh at their antics. When they go for the bird feeder, they demonstrate incredible agility and resourcefulness. If you've ever seen videos of the off-balance wheel attached to some feeders, you'll know what I mean. You can't help but laugh. And, the best part is seeing the squirrel chattering up at the silly feeder, as though the squirrel is issuing a very stern warning. Cute and adorable and endlessly amusing.
- M
..... Squirrel!
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