Wildlife Sighting – Eastern Gray Squirrel (Raymond, New Hampshire)

The Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a tree dwelling squirrel native to the eastern part of the United States and Canada. It is very important in forest regeneration due to its habit of scattering and hoarding of seeds. It is common in parts of Europe and is considered an invasive species there. Alex took these pictures as the marauding culprits scattered and ate birdseed on our deck overlooking the river.

Wildlife Sighting – Eastern Chipmunk (Raymond, New Hampshire)

The eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) lives in deciduous wooded areas and urban parks throughout the eastern United States and southern Canada. It prefers areas with rocky outcrops as it is mostly a ground dwelling animal. Alex took these pictures from our living room looking out on the deck as it was eating birdseed that had been scattered by marauding Gray Squirrels.

Wildlife (?) Sighting – Ant Farm

Growing up I always had a series of aquariums and terrariums the latter with a variety of insects; everything from tarantulas to lowly ants. We purchased this Uncle Milton Giant Ant Farm for Alex for Christmas. We assembled the ant farm easily and filled it with the sand and added some water. We ordered the ants from Amazon and even though it was mid winter in New England they were all alive when they arrived in the mail. We added them to the farm and they immediately started to tunnel, by the next day they already had a network of tunnels and caves constructed. Each day we will look and the industrious little creatures have re-dug and changed the contours of their habitat. I would highly recommend this “ant farm” for any kid and even as adults we enjoy watching the ants go about their daily chores. We keep the farm on our coffee table so we can check in on them as we watch TV. You only have to feed and water them about once per week so they are extremally easy to care for.

You punch a few holes in the sand to get them started when you first add in the ants.

The tunnels can be quite complex

The ants are constantly digging and making new tunnels