That's Me Done

[teacake44]

For now, off to the park for my walk, along with a bag of bird seed, and nuts for the squirrels.
Hopefully the squirrels will come running down the tree trunks when they spot me. :0)

[Theland]

Teacake, I am envious.
Those excursions must be so relaxing, up close to nature.
(I hope the squirrels are all masked up:-)

[barry1010]

Hope the squirrels are red

[teacake44]

Well it don't take wildlife long to latch on especially in the cold weather. I've been baiting up a tree lined dirt track next to a pool for the last 3 weeks, dropping nuts and seed in small piles as I walk. Today once I got to the end about 100 yards in total and looked round, the pathway was covered in all types of birds feeding away, and I counted 8 squirrels feeding along with them. No red ones in this park barry none that I've seen. Very common here. :0(

[DTCwordfan]

If I was a squirrel, I would run a mile.....

[iluvmargie]

Aww that's lovely tc, good on you!

[emmie]

rare to see red squirrels, these days.

[jno]

isn't it awful the way Covid shows how disease can jump from animals to humans.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37949557

[iluvmargie]

If you ever get up north emmie, there is a lovely place in Formby, Lancs. where there is a colony of red squirrels and you can buy food and feed them. Lovely to see them all running around and free.

[LadyCG]

The squirrels in Boston would eat out of your hands.

[emmie]

i have seen them in a nature reserve, i forget where, but they are so beautiful

[iluvmargie]

They are very cute to look at, but I like the grey ones as well.

[joeski53]

Rare now red squirrels, lucky if you see one of those, all greys where we we are!

[iluvmargie]

I was down in Bedfordshire once visiting friends and they have a very large garden. While we were sitting out in it on a sunny day, two red squirrels appeared in the trees, a lovely sight.

[teacake44]

jno 9.34, Do you know after living 70 years so far, I didn't know until you told me today that animals can catch a disease, and in some cases pass it on to humans. One just doesn't stop learning how ever old you get. I'm so great full to you for this information. I will not go and feed anymore squirrels, cows horses, cats , dogs, pigs, fish, donkeys, rabbits, sheep, goats none what so ever. :0(

[Peter Pedant]

the room is so cold even the mice are throwing themselves on the mouse traps ....

[andres]

teacake --you have to be joking? There must be at least 36 diseases that humans can catch from animals. Too many to mention here. Just do a google.

[woofgang]

some cheery reading :) https://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/topics/zoonoses.htm

[Peter Pedant]

i read the reply and er squirrelled it away
and fort ( essex mode here) - me auld boss wrote a paper about that! - He what did the one about DNA viruses NOT very like covid. Dat one

Divine Naomi triumphantly calls my time at Porton Down - a walter Mitty time! - and he did ! Here!

https://www.nature.com/articles/201849a0

and yes those who can subtract will notice the ref is a paper from - er 80 y ago, which must be some kinda record! - and in Nature - big boys' journal. (*) - red squirrels have a popuation size that looks like sunspot graph ( up diddly up up and then down diddly down down)
which we wd regard now as chaotic. and it is the interation he said with some squirrel virus

so yup long post on squirrel viruses ( from someone I think pretty obviously must have worked at Porton Down) and their effect written by a now long dead researcher

phew lucky I am an Aber innit

(*) cries and howls of "foo what all dat den?" Nature dat like Nat Geographic only wivvart da photies etc

[andres]

Thank you woofgang. ^^

[Peter Pedant]

oh my god
dont feed an old world monkey

keep well well away from den ( essex mode so everyone can capeesh)

Alexander (Greek: Αλέξανδρος, Aléxandros; 1 August 1893 – 25 October 1920) was King of Greece from 11 June 1917 until his death three years later, at the age of 27, from the effects of a monkey bite.

I keep on expanding this to Monkey B virus, (yeah Porton again) and some wiki ed - last time it was a pastry cook from Hercegovina keeps reverting it