Thursday, December 11, 2025

Apartments

 We have a lot of squirrels around here. See these lumps in the trees? They are homes that the squirrels built, called Dreys. These trees are whole apartment complexes!




They are made of twigs, leaves, and other, softer material on the inside. They typically stay in their dreys at night and during inclement weather, and return to their nests around dusk.


Many have been covered in snow this week. I hope they are well insulated!


What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass 

W.H. Davies


16 comments:

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

Wow Ginny, this is so cool. I have seen these in trees here in Montreal in parks. Now I know what they are.

MadSnapper n Beau said...

we don't have trees like this or many of the nests, I assume because we are warm year round. these are amazing. who knew squirrels had apartments? not me! LOVE LOVE LOVE the poem.. so true so true

Ann said...

I've seen these around here but never knew what they were. Now I do. How interesting

Mari said...

We have lots of squirrels and squirrel nest too. They are so fun to watch.
I love your header!

Martha Jane Orlando said...

We have lots of squirrel nests here in our woods, too, Ginny. Squirrels are such fun to watch cavorting around no matter what the season of the year. Blessings!

CheerfulMonk said...

I didn’t know that! Thank you…for the poem as well as the pictures. ❤️

DawnTreader said...

I did not know squirrels build nests like that. I always thought of them as living inside hollow trees.

Chatty Crone said...

All I can say from MUCH experience is that you DO NOT want them in YOUR house.

photowannabe said...

We have some resident squirrels around our place too. They are fun to watch but can really be pests and get into things and places they aren't suppose to be in.
Thanks for the nice comment on my blog. The "painting" of the trees over our fireplace is actually a photo I took at Lake Tahoe. I then had it put on canvas. It was an amazing Fall day captured forever.
Sue

HappyK said...

That's a lot of squirrel nests. We don't have very many squirrels around my house.

roentare said...

Your post highlights how these snowy dreys turn the trees into hidden squirrel dwellings, quietly sustaining life through winter’s cold.

DeniseinVA said...

Sweet poem and splendid photos. I often used to see the squirrels scrambling up the trees with a mouthful of leaves to build their nests. You have got quite a few there. Great captures!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Although I have seen the occasional squirrel's next in a tree, Ginny, I have never seen so many in a single tree and didn't know that a nest was called a drey, thank you. It's nice to learn something new.

Leslie's Garden said...

Apparently we don't have "squirrel apartments" here in Newnan, GA. But that would be so cool. I need to pay better attention.

Red Rose Alley said...

Oh my gosh, I didn't know about these. They look like birds' nests. Look how close apart they are. I don't see those here, cause we have mountain trees, and they are full of pine and fir branches. You got some snow already? Ours is supposed to come after Christmas! I like that poem. It is a reminder to make time for nature. Thanks for sharing that, Ginny.

~Sheri

The Happy Whisk said...

Great job on the birds.

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