{"id":19647,"date":"2015-04-27T03:05:28","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T10:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/?p=19647"},"modified":"2015-04-13T18:01:16","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T01:01:16","slug":"gray-squirrel-palette-premo-color-recipes-vol-084-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/gray-squirrel-palette-premo-color-recipes-vol-084-b\/19647\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray Squirrel Palette | Premo Color Recipes Vol-084-B"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gray<\/a><\/a>1<\/span>-B<\/span>: Western Gray Squirrel
\n2-<\/span>B<\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Forest Dweller<\/span>
\n3-<\/span>B<\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Walnut Collector
\n<\/span>4<\/span>–<\/span>B<\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Fauna<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

You may think this darling little (and I use the word “little” loosely) gray squirrel nibbling on a walnut, is just the cutest little thing… but this guy (and his friends) are real rabble rousers!!<\/span><\/p>\n

This Western Gray Squirrel is about the size of a small cat and lives in our suburban neighborhood with a pack of buddies who frequent or yard… especially when the nuts begin to ripen on our lovely Walnut Tree in the back.<\/span><\/p>\n

They come from far and wide on some kind of critter road system that miraculously seems to survive the constant road traffic in front of our house. They’re athletic little buggers… dodging vehicles and scurrying back and forth across the street like nut collecting stuntmen. Pretty impressive… actually. Wish I was that nimble!<\/span><\/p>\n

Too bad it’s such a pain in the butt to clean up after them!<\/span><\/p>\n

When the nuts begin to ripen, the squirrels have a sixth sense. They come out of the woodwork… blast across the street from who knows where (probably my friends place where she puts out peanuts for them), and they go whipping up the tree to collect their booty, high-fiving each other as they pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, they don’t exactly just daintily head up the tree and put a nut in their cheek and head home. No… they nibble at the whole cluster that comes barreling down like 20 green walnut hand grenades! Our walkway goes right under that tree and I’ve had to dive out of the way more than once to avoid being blasted in the head by those falling nut projectiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there’s the mess… see that cute little guy nibbling on that nutshell in the picture? He’s not having a tasty little snack… he’s shucking the thick, green dye, walnut stain filled, husk from the outside of the nutshell…. before checking see if the nut is a good one to bury in the ground to save for later in the winter when food is scarce.<\/span><\/p>\n

And another thing about this walnut chipping business… they don’t like to do it politely on the grass, where it would be easy to clean up. There they might be a target of a sneaky neighborhood cat. So, they like to sit and chip those husks into little piles on the railings (what this guy is doing right now out front of Doug’s Office), on the gazebo roof, the stairs, the middle of the driveway (where they can hear someone coming)… and even on top of our vehicles!<\/span><\/p>\n

Each little green crumble, leaves a stain that is almost impossible to remove… no matter where it lands. On the deck, the driveway, the railings, in the truck… even on the kitchen floor and the carpet, when someone tracks them in on their shoes and then drags them around the house on their socks!<\/span><\/p>\n

If I didn’t love nature so much, I’d probably chop down that tree and put a 90 foot fence around our place… but instead I can be seen sweeping and muttering (sometimes, not so under my breath) until nut season is over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some might say at that time of the year I go a little nutty myself!<\/span><\/p>\n

I do hope you enjoy this inspiration for our next Vol-084-B Series color recipes for May 2015… even if it did sound a little ranty ;)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gray<\/a>Everyone who is subscribed to our Polymer Clay Guest List<\/a> will be able to download the following recipes free, one per week on Friday mornings during the month of May 2015:<\/span><\/p>\n