Three tornadoes.... we survived.

[Ladyshires]

Been gone for a couple days, if you've seen the news, you know the Atlanta area was hit by twisters. It became hot, muggy, very silent, and then that nasty whooshing sound. My house was not hit, but very near here there was lots of damage. I could hear it from the yard. Did have a lightning bolt slam down in the back yard. Emergency alerts for about 24 hours, I slept with my windows open to listen for them, and headed to the basement twice. I was soo scared! It flipped mobile homes over and destroyed houses. The torrents of rain and GOLF SIZE HAIL BALLS were frightening. Praise God my horses were 50 miles south of this and only had the rain and a bit of hail.

Everyone wants to know about the squirrels in all of this which was my first thought. This is the interesting thing: I think they took refuge in the garage. I have the birdseed in there and early in the morning I was checking on water damage (streams ran right through the garage) and found them eating out of the bags; they never go in there. Eventually I counted all 4 of them back in the yard along with the chippie; so all survived. They were very wet, cold, and seemed nervous and 'in need of reassurance.' Call me crazy, but they are so intelligent. The friendliest male came tapping on my window several times and looking at me; my heart nearly broke in two. He has never done this; they are wild and of course adhere to a boundary, but this time he was asking for help. He actually tapped the glass with his tiny paws.

Nuts aren't ideal for wild animals, but they are high energy/fatty, so I ran to the store and met up with other very nervous and thankful survivors of this storm.... grabbed 25 pounds of nuts and came back to my scared and hungry squirrels. I treated them to black oil sunflower seed and roasted peanuts (unsalted). They have VACUUMED this food down in record time so I put out extra. If there is something more I can do, please let me know. I put out grapes, too, but they were not interested.

judy

[Findtime]

Oh my! Thanks goodness you're all ok!

That must have been absolutely terrifying!!

[Twi_prime]

It's great that you and yours faired well! Glad you and the squirrels and chip are safe. I do hear people recommending peeling grapes when you give them, but you probably already know that. Good luck. :)

[lilidukes]

I'm just up 85 from you. We didn't get the tornadoes we got 70 mph winds. Thought we were going to blow away. My NR's were restless all night and the dog was acting very jumpy too. Glad everyone is ok!

[JLM27]

So glad you and your animal friends are OK.

Why do you think they lost their food in the storm? I'm trying to imagine what happened to it.

[stosh2010]

Glad news...that you came thru unscathed...
...and your Fuzz-heads too...

[jakid709]

I'm about 190 miles south of you, spend the day like you, my baby came on the porch up to the storm door, they are smart. I just posted some pics of her today after the storm.

[Scooterzmom]

I'm so glad you and your fuzzers are OK. I've been worrying about our members in all those areas.

I wonder if it might be a good thing for us to try and all get in touch with each other to make sure nobody is missing from TSB.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

I have only been through one tornado and I hope I never have to again, so glad you are safe.

[Ladyshires]

Lilidukes & Jakid709 - Nice to know I have Georgia neighbors. Glad you are all well, too.

JLM27, I don't think anything necessarily happened to their food, I think they are upset and nervous about the storm like any other animal. I've seen wildlife in distress before, and they maybe get a little disoriented? They just seemed to need to be closer for food. I had a little hummingbird try to get in my house during an unusually cold summer day (with hail). Additionally, I had a baby raccoon come to my window and stick his nose through last night, too - scared the heck out of me, but I'm assuming their home may have been destroyed.

Twi Prime - I did not know that and I never get offended if people tell me what is right - thank you. I am new and I need to learn... I will do that next time. What about thin slices of apple? Do they like lettuce (the mixed kind?)

Thank you everyone - glad that we didn't lose anyone to the tornadoes.

[trueblue]

Glad you are all safe !!!

You could try peeled Avacado; don't think they like it once it dries up however.

[Twi_prime]

Lilidukes & Jakid709 - Nice to know I have Georgia neighbors. Glad you are all well, too.

Twi Prime - I did not know that and I never get offended if people tell me what is right - thank you. I am new and I need to learn... I will do that next time. What about thin slices of apple? Do they like lettuce (the mixed kind?)


Glad the grape info is useful to you. On the other fruits and veggies, I'm not real sure. Someone will know though. :)

[Nancy in New York]

Glad the grape info is useful to you. On the other fruits and veggies, I'm not real sure. Someone will know though. :)

Just one more thing about grapes. There is a whitish part in the middle that they also can choke on, it's a little harder than the grape itself, take that out as well as taking the peel off. Many people just avoid grapes to be on the safe side.:thumbsup :)

[Ladyshires]

Nancy - thanks. No grapes for them :)

[treeman]

I'm glad to hear that you and yours made it through alright. It's that time of year again. Tornado season now and 'Cane season acoming.

[MiriamS]

Wow, I'm glad that you're okay and amazed that the four squirrels knew where to go for safety. I mean, they are so smart that I'm kind of not surprised but what a delightful thing to know that relying on someone for safety can cross the boundary of species! Especially if they are wild or did I misunderstand and they are squirrels you raised and released? And that the male tapped on your window uch, :Love_Icon I would have been like, "come one, come all" let's have a wild squirrel party in my house. Such a relief about your horses too. Hope that raccoon is okay. Was it young enough that it needed help?

Oh and I highly suggest the avocado. My wilds don't even touch grapes but I've never met a squirrel that didn't LOVE avocado. They tend to prefer slightly less ripe to overripe. You know, when it's just a little extra green. I know, they all OWN me.

[Ladyshires]

Hi Miriam, I did not raise these squirrels; they were terrified of me when I first moved into this house. Open the door and they split! I have since gained their trust in an amazing way. I can open the window and talk 'squirrel' to them. They are so comical and expressive. I will try the avocado for sure! And the baby racoon was just a juvenile... and his fat momma was waddling nearby so they are okay. I've been leaving food for them and they come by every night to pick up their 'take out.'