The Nut Cat
By Christy Lowman
Burke County
This month I wanted to talk about a backyard critter that you more than likely see in your own backyard. My family refers to them as Nut Cats. This animal is usually mostly gray in color however they have been found with red, black, brown, and white fur. In fact, you can find white ones in Brevard, North Carolina. Do you know which backyard critter I’m talking about?
Tree Squirrels!
Tree squirrels have four teeth that continually grow. They have to gnaw to keep their teeth the correct size and shape. I was shocked to find out that tree squirrels are omnivores. Not only do they eat, nuts, flowers, buds, bark, seeds, roots, they also eat eggs, baby birds, insects, and caterpillars!
Their front feet have 4 long fingers plus a short stubby thumb. Their back feet have 5 toes. They have bald soles and their ankles are very flexible which gives them the ability to lay their hind feet flat against the tree while climbing it.
Squirrels have several predators. When these predators are around, tree squirrels use a buddy system. They will alert each other with a whistle and bark that a predator is nearby. Every time they bark, they will flick their tail. Squirrels also snort, screech, and make all sorts of other sounds for communication.
Some squirrels hide and hoard nuts in many places. They do not come back and eat all of the nuts they bury resulting in new tree saplings in the spring.
The smallest tree squirrel is the African Pygmy which is only 5 inches from its nose to the end of its tail.
The largest tree squirrel is the multicolor Indian Giant which grows up to 3 feet long!
The most common tree squirrel is the Eastern Gray. This squirrel was made NC’s state mammal in 1969. The Eastern Gray can be found with white, black, and red fur.
Is it not awesome that God made all these tree squirrels? Not only that, the Eastern Gray, (and other types) can be found in multiple colors!
This reminds me that God made people, He made us many different colors, but there is no difference in us at all. We bleed, we sin, we love, and we all have a soul that needs to be saved by God’s grace. God loves us all equally no matter what color we are. Just like He loves all the different colors of the Eastern Gray squirrel. He doesn’t have a preference or favorite color! They are all equal in His eyes and all colors of people should be equal in our eyes! Remember our daily goal is to be Christlike!
Dear Lord, help us love one another the same no matter what we look like! We thank You dear Lord for loving every one of us equally! Help us strive to be like You and treat each other how we want to be treated! In Jesus’s name, I pray, Amen.
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.” Romans 10:12
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
**If you are interested in seeing the white Eastern Gray squirrel, visit Brevard NC. They also have a yearly festival celebrating this squirrel around Memorial Day weekend.**
Bibliography
https://www.cityofbrevard.com/481/White-Squirrels
https://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-tree-squirrels
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/eastern-gray-squirrel
https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/education/gray_squirrel.pdf
https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/squirrels-101/
https://ihearts143quotes.com/the-indian-giant-squirrel-ratufa-indica-ihearts143quotes/
https://www.britannica.com/search?query=squirrel
________________________________________
Christy Lowman is a Christian author and illustrator that lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband and two children. She enjoys writing and illustrating books for all ages. Some of her short stories are published with Guideposts and HCI. Christy gives all the glory to God in everything she does. A portion of every book sold from the Small Bible Character Series will be donated to battle human trafficking. If you enjoy her books, “like’ her author page on Facebook and let her know! You can buy her books at //www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AChristy+Lowman&s=relevancerank&text=Christy+Lowman&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1. You can reach her at //www.facebook.com/authorChristyLowman/
or christyssoaps@yahoo.com
You can read more Christian news from Christy here.
______________________________________
