Happy Squirrel Day!

21st January is Squirrel Day. And what better day to launch the Happy Squirrel blog?

When I was a teenager I had a pet red squirrel. We lived around a 20 minute drive from a National Trust red squirrel reserve and one day my stepfather was walking our dog in the local park and a baby squirrel came over. Fortunately the dog just gave the squirrel a sniff and didn’t try to eat it. However, my stepdad was concerned that he might not be so lucky if he approached another dog. So he scooped it up and brought it home. Naturally, we named him Cyril! He was incredibly tame and would find somewhere warm on our bodies to fall asleep. He was rather partial to an armpit or a bra cup. He was also highly skilled at climbing the embossed wallpaper. After a few weeks, when he was fully grown, we tool him back to the woods and released him. He never even looked back. To this day I have no idea whether or not we did the right thing.

Fast forward a few years and I have somehow become the crazy squirrel lady. I forgot all about Cyril for a couple of decades and then suddenly it all came back and an obsession was born. Now I have become the person who is really easy to buy for - if I have a birthday - if in doubt, buy me a squirrel. I have tried to stop it, I really have. And yet every time I see a new squirrel thing I just have to have it! 

I like to think that squirrels look pretty happy. They certainly move in a playful way. Whenever I see one, I am generally brought out of my thinking for a few moments and reconnect with nature. To me, a squirrel represents freedom - the freedom to climb and jump and scamper around. Of course their scampering could be a sign of anxiety and fights over territory - we can never really get into the heads of others.

This blog is not specifically dedicated to squirrels, rather it is dedicated to happiness - and squirrels are one of many things that make me happy. It’s all rather self-indulgent but I hope you enjoy reading.