Eco's holiday adventure part 5

Friends!
I just received another letter from a friend that was having fun with Eco over the holidays. They said that Eco helped a family take down  Halloween decorations and put up Christmas lights! Apparently my little cousin was a wonderful helper. (I'd have to see that to believe it. One time he was supposed to help me carry a birthday cake over to one of our friend's burrow. By the time we got there the cake was missing! And my cousin had frosting all over his nose. Hmmm, not very helpful indeed.) They also told me that Eco and his new friend swept the front steps and put the lights up on their bushes! That sounded like so much fun! I love decorating bushes. And then curling up and going to sleep in them after a hard days work :)

Until next time my friends!Eco

Eco's Holiday Adventure part 4

Here is a letter I received from my friends this week! It looks like they had a lot of fun with my cousin, Eco:

Hello Eco,

Here are some pictures of you with us and one of your big cousins.  

There is one picture of you at our community tree decoration party and one with the arboretum Illumination literature.

 Sorry I forgot the camera in the car.  We hope you had fun with us.

-Your friends

I did have fun with them! I loved how they used recycled materials to decorate for the holidays! Toilet paper rolls are so versatile! I use them for everything. (Except for their intended purpose. Raccoons do not need toilet paper, thank you very much.)
Keep those letters coming!

Eco  

Eco's Holiday Adventure part 3.

Greetings friends!
I traveled with my friend to visit family over Thanksgiving. I checked out Auntie Jacqui's Christmas tree (I was really good at climbing it).

I ate some of Grandma's cranberries. I love love love berries! 

 I also helped my good friend put up some Christmas decorations at Grandma's. Here family was so nice to me! They didn't try to shoo me out the door or anything!

It was great! 
Until next time my friends, 
Eco

Eco's Holiday adventure pt. 2

Greeting friends!

I am hanging out with my Friend Jack. He made me a VERY comfy bed out of a recycled diaper box. It is much better than sleeping outside on some leaves! Here is a picture of me resting with my best friend. Batman has always been a great friend to the raccoons.

I love how Jack thought to RECYCLE the box, too. There are so many amazing things we can build using our imagination things we find around the house. Boxes are one of my most favorite things to play with. A box can be a house, a cave, a ship, a car, or millions of other things! Send me pictures if you come up with something amazing!

Love,
Eco

Eco's Holiday adventure!

Greetings!

I am very busy this week going on adventures with my friends! I will try to keep you up to date as best I can.

Today I was hanging out with my friend, Joe. I got to ride a really big ship! I had to share with a turkey, but he was pretty cool about it. Joe told me it was called the Mayflower. I thought it was a silly name for a boat. I thought it should have been called Fallleaves.

Thanks Joe!

Until next time my friends!

Eco

Hello Mr. Squirrel! Hope you find your nuts!

My squirrel friends are super busy this time of year. I'm sure you've noticed! Around Eldridge Park and the eastern side of the country we see the Eastern Gray Squirrel, or Sciurus carolinensis. The genus name (that first latin name) means shadow-tail. That second name refers to where it was first recorded, the Carolinas. They are a native mammal to the eastern U.S but have been introduced to some European countries, parts of Africa, Australia and parts of the western U.S. 


Most people know that squirrels bury their hoards but I don't think you realized how nuts these little fury things are! It's estimated that one squirrel can have several thousand caches per season. They have two different types of caches, long term secure ones and ones that they bury in an unsecured location that they plan to retrieve in a few hours or days for reburial. They use distant and nearby landmarks and their sense of smell to retrieve their caches. They have even been known to pretend to bury things if they feel they are being watched! Those tricky little rodents! Amazing! So next time you see a squirrel burying their stash avert your eyes - give them a little privacy!

It's also very difficult to tell whether you are watching a boy squirrel or a girl squirrel because they have the same body length, weight and color. Gray squirrels can live up to 20 years in captivity and live to about 12 years in the wild. 

They love seeds and berries and will do just about anything to get to them. So watch your bird feeders! Here's some helpful hints on squirrel-proofing your feeders: http://bit.ly/f3qhLF

In conclusion, sometimes I get a little jealous of my squirrel friends. They are the little rockstars in the local wildlife world. With their awesome climbing and great spacial memory. Raccoons also have the ability to turn our paws around in order to climb down a tree head first. But no way do we look as adorable doing it. 

Next time you see a squirrel tip your hat to them and let them know you appreciate how awesome they are.

Till next time, my friends!
Eco

Disclaimer: raccoons are still better.

Fall colors!

Hello my friends!

I hope you all have gotten a chance to be outside and soak in all the amazing colors of fall! The trees are looking beautiful here at Eldridge Park. I have been enjoying crunching leaves, piling them up and throwing them into the air!

Why do we call it fall? Say it with me: "the leaves fall!" Nice job you smarty pants, you. That's the reason. Autumn used to be referred to as "harvest" but as people moved more and more to an urban life they started referring to it "fall of the leaf" and it gradually turned into just plain old "fall".

Leaves are falling which is awesome but I think the best part of fall is the colors! "Why do leaves turn different colors?", I hear you say. Great question!

Leaves change different colors because the actual chemical composition in the leaf is changing. There are three molecules that are responsible for color in leaves:

Chlorophyll - Green

Anthocyanin - Red

Carotenoid - Orange

Chlorophyll you might remember from science class as the green stuff in plants that absorbs the sunlight used for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll starts breaking down when the hours of daylight start to slowly diminish. Once the chlorophyll starts going away the other chemicals that were always present in the leaf get their time in the spotlight.

So poor little carotenoids and xanthophylls. They wait their whole little existences for the brief seasonal transition when they can shout "Hello world! I'm here and I'm beautiful!"

The anthocyanins, however, only join the fall fiesta once the chlorophyll starts leaving. The amount of anthocyanins produced is related to environmental factors. You want fall days that are bright and cool, and nights that are chilly but not freezing for some great reds and purples.

So next time you are out for a walk take a moment to thank some lesser known molecules for the beauty that surrounds you! "Thanks for caring carotenoids, thanks for always being there for us, anthocyanins."

Love,
Eco