How The Indian Palm Squirrel Got Its Stripes

I referred to this beautiful Hindu story in a post a few months ago, but I thought it would be worth giving a more complete telling. It is an account of how the Indian palm squirrel, or the three-striped palm squirrel, got the distinctive white stripes that run down the length of its back. You can read a more complete version of this story, and other Hindu and Indian religious and cultural texts, here.

At a time when Lord Rama had been banished from his princely capital at Ayodhya, his wife Sita was captured by a demon, or Rakshasa, named Ravana, who carried her off in a flying chariot to his kingdom across the sea. When Rama and his brother Lakshmana discovered that Sita was missing, they searched everywhere for her, but had no luck until the eagle king Jatayu, who had been mortally wounded by Ravana and was dying, told them what had happened. As Rama and Lakshmana continued searching, the monkey king Sugreev confirmed Jatayu's account, and offered to help Rama recover his wife.

The monkey king, a devoted friend to Rama, gathered together a huge army of thousands of monkeys and bears to begin construction of a stone bridge that would span the ocean and allow Rama access to Ravana's kingdom. The monkeys and bears spread out through the forests and mountains, uprooted trees and carried huge boulders down to the sea to build the bridge.

As work progressed, a small brown squirrel saw what was happening, and, desiring to serve Lord Rama, ran to join the laborers. She ran back and forth as fast as she could, carrying pebbles to add to the growing bridge across the sea. Working tirelessly, she placed one pebble onto the pile, then darted back for another.

When some of the monkeys saw the squirrel scurrying back and forth with her pebbles, they began to mock her, ridiculing her small size and making light of her contribution to the bridge. Soon the bears joined in, teasing and chasing the small squirrel.

Humiliated and in tears, the squirrel ran to Lord Rama, who heard the cries of the tiny squirrel over the rush of the sea and the noise of the workers. When he saw the tears in her eyes, he was moved by her dedication and the hard work that she had freely given to him. He picked her up gently in his cupped hands to comfort her, telling her that the pebbles she had contributed would make the bridge stronger. He also decreed that from that time forward, no creature would ever make fun of the squirrel. As a sign of his decree, he stroked the fur of her back, and when he lifted his hand, the impressions of his fingers left the three stripes that the squirrel displays proudly to this day.

Lord Rama comforts the squirrel

New York Town Celebrates Art... and Squirrels!

The city of Olean, in southwestern New York, has an unusual public art installation. Throughout the city, four foot tall fiberglass squirrels painted by various, mostly local, artists adorn the sidewalks and other public spaces. Each squirrel has been sponsored by a local business, organization, or individual, for the purpose of promoting the arts and raising funds for a children's learning museum.

Blue Poplar

Sir Pennywise

Some of the squirrels reflect their settings or the businesses that sponsored them, such as "Sir Pennywise" (above), "Cutter" (below) and the unfortunately included "Ronald McSquirrel" (not pictured). Others, such as "Blue Poplar" and "Starry Night" (below) are more artistically adorned.

Starry Night

Cutter

The newest, and apparently final, squirrel, unveiled yesterday, honors the city's emergency medical response teams. He is named "inVINCEable" after Vince Houghtaling, a nine year old boy whose life was saved by emergency personnel.

inVINCEable and Vince

Nutty Ol' St. Nick

Life's Images

18th Century Women and Their Squirrels

I ran across this interesting post about portraits of 18th Century American Women posing with squirrels. This seems to have been something of a fad at the time.

The author speculates about whether the squirrels are real, or are copied from emblem books and included in the portraits for some sort of symbolic purpose. It certainly seems likely that the squirrels were copied from books--just try getting a squirrel to sit still long enough for a portrait--it is also true that many among the upper class during this period were fascinated with the eastern gray squirrel. It was not uncommon to trap squirrels and keep them as pets. Benjamin Franklin was a squirrel enthusiast who even took squirrels with him to England to give as gifts to friends.

Of course, among the lower classes, particularly in rural areas, the gray squirrel was looked at more as a source of food than as a pet. It would be fascinating to make a more in-depth study of the relationship between the colonial-period Americans and the gray squirrel.

Winkelhimer the Painting Squirrel

Artist Shyla Mouton rescued Winkelhimer the squirrel as a baby after she was attacked and injured by a cat. After watching her rescuer at work painting dolls and jewelry, Winkelhimer was inspired to take up painting herself. Now her short video has gone viral on YouTube.




Since she lost the use of her right hand in the attack, Winkelhimer holds the brush in her mouth and her other hand. Mouton sells the paintings on eBay, bringing in up to $40 for a painting, which she uses to care for Winkelhimer and her other rescue animals.

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day to Winkelhimer and all of the other wonderful squirrels out there!

Ratatoskr, Squirrel From Norse Mythology

This is Ratatoskr:

His name translates, roughly, as "drill tooth." He is a red squirrel found in the earliest written compilations of Norse mythology, dating to approximately the thirteenth century and based on earlier oral traditions.

Ratatoskr's job, apparently, was to climb up and down on Yggdrasil, the world tree, and carry messages back and forth between the eagle perched at the top, to the wyrm, or serpent, Nidhogg who lived beneath one of the roots of the tree.

This is how Ratatoskr is described in one translation of the poetic Edda (Icelandic collection of Norse myths):

Ratatosk is the squirrel who there shall run

On the ash-tree Yggdrasil;

From above the words of the eagle he bears,

And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.

Another Icelandic collection known as the Prose Edda also describes Ratatoskr, but in this version he seems more a villain, or at least a bit mischevious:

There is much to be told. An eagle sits at the top of the ash, and it has knowledge of many things. Between its eyes sits the hawk called Vedrfolnir [...]. The squirrel called Ratatosk [...] runs up and down the ash. He tells slanderous gossip, provoking the eagle and Nidhogg.

Karen's New Painting For Sale On eBay

You can purchase this painting and other awesome art and jewelry at Karen's eBay Store.

Tightrope (2011)

Voodoo Queen

Here is a better quality image of Karen's newly completed painting that I posted the other day.

Awesome Painting!

This is the painting that my wife Karen just finished!