Right now, at 8:13 in the a.m., I have about 10 squirrels out in my backyard, eating all the food I put out for them. Thursday, for Thanksgiving, I filled the bird feeders up to the brim, put out walnuts and peanuts for them. It was all gone by the end of the day.

I love squirrels. I call them North American Monkeys. They are so playful and cute. They hang upside down, they play more than any other animal I know. And their profile looks like their nose is about to drip off their face.

One of my squirrels, who I named Spyder, came in the house and is running around my kitchen burying the walnuts I gave her, after eating about 20 of them. She's still quite tame, after I raised her as a baby, then nursed her back to health after a hawk got her and dropped her, then released her in my back yard. I just took a bunch of pics of her, profile too, but my card reader broke the other day and I just ordered another one through the www.ChristmasDaze.com website, and it will come in a coupla days and then I'll post them.

She's running around my house, making a mess, chasing my house rabbits and periodically coming back to me to "refuel." She loves to "rassle" with me, which I'm going to do with her after I finish this blog. She thinks my hands are other monkeys and she vertically jumps up and attacks them and rolls over. She play bites me, but with those long teeth, the bites are slightly painful, but they don't draw blood.

Well, I'm off to rassle with my monkey. When she wants to go back outside, or when she wrecks a considerable amount of my stuff, I'll put her back outside, where she can chase the other monkeys.

As soon as I get my reader, I'll post the pics I take of her today.

I'm replying to myself about Spyder, my favorite Monkey. I saw her today, and she took several walnuts out of my hand. She did not allow me to pick her up, but I was allowed to pat her head and ears, but ONLY while she was eating the walnuts. She followed me into the garage, where the food is stored and sat on the freezer and ate, while I filled up the containers with seed, to fill the squirrel and bird feeders.

She is still soo cute and I miss her coming into my house, taking a nap on my lap, rassling with her. She is a real squirrel now, and probably in another month, will be preparing a nest to have her babies. It was fun having her in my life, and I'll never forget her.

I created a photo album just of her in my house doing various things. It's called "Spyder Monkey Fall 2008." You should look at the pics - she's so wonderful.