September, 2025
In the second blog post about this camping trip, I ended that blog post with two photos of a Douglas Squirrel in some shrubbery right next to my trailer. And I promised I would show you more. I have videos too! So stay tuned. They are coming up in this blog post!
But first, I must apologize to reader Susan Kelly who asked in her comment to my first blog post of this trip about the word “wynoochee” … where it came from and what it means. I replied to Susan’s comment and said I would explain that in the next blog post. But I forgot, and that was THREE blog posts ago. Oh my. But in last week’s blog post comments, Nevada kindly reminded me, thank you. 🙂
So, let’s start this blog post with the word “wynoochee”. The name/word wynoochee (wy-NOO-chee) comes from the language of the people of the Lower Chehalis River. In that language, it’s spelled xʷənúɬč and it means “shifting”. The Wynoochee River is a tributary of the Chehalis River. The Wynoochee River starts up in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park and flows generally south. Its drainage basin is 218 square miles in area. And it certainly does shift its course over the years!
The Lower Chehalis people are a southwestern coast Salish people indigenous to Washington State, originally inhabiting the area around Willapa Bay and the Chehalis River. They are known for their rich cultural heritage and historical significance in the region, consisting of several villages. The word/name “Chehalis” comes from the word c̓x̣íl̕əš which means “sand”, which refers to their principal village near what is now Westport, right on the Pacific Ocean.
Today, they are STILL not recognized as a sovereign people/tribe, though they are included in other tribes for their federal rights. They operate the Lucky Eagle Casino, and several community wellness centers, and they take care of each other.
When I learn about indigenous people here in Washington and British Columbia, I am always so very impressed. When I spend time with those people, I am welcomed and always cared for as if I was one of them. Would that we ALL would do that!
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And now let’s get back to that VERY acrobatic Douglas Squirrel that I showed you in my second blog post of this trip. Why he felt comfortable showing off so near my trailer, and with me standing outside right there too, I don’t know. But I sure had fun watching him. He kept on clicking and squeaking throughout the two or three hours that he was there. And he came back the next day, and the next. I didn’t feed him human food, but I watched him and learned what leaves he liked best. And then I plucked them off the shrubbery near me and simply spread them on the ground near my trailer. I guess he appreciated that (he ate them!) and then I guess he trusted me.
The photo below shows how close the trees are to the doorway of the trailer, where I enter and exit the trailer several times a day, making noise when I do.
Below, I’m standing inside the trailer and looking out through the screen door. Notice the blacktop right next to the trailer, and then the ground next to the blacktop, the ground that is mostly bare but has some small green plants on it.
I took the video below this morning. It’s a short 10 second video that shows how wonderfully rich this wooded campground is … how dense the native trees and shrubs are. At the beginning of the video, you can hear a squirrel chattering. Believe me, I could hear them pretty much all day long! There are LOTS of these native Douglas Squirrels here.
Turn your sound up to hear the squirrel …
Late one morning, I glanced out my kitchen window to see this (below). See that small dark brown smudge just to the left of the center of the photo? That’s my neighbor, the Douglas Squirrel! He had come from the left, and was moving towards the right. Hopping side to side, he seemed to be looking for something.
I had already been watching him and knew by then what he liked to eat. So I had picked a few of the leaves that he liked the best and put them on the ground over to the right, in among those leaves on the ground on the right side of the photo above.
In the photo below, he evidently has found the scent, but hasn’t found the leaves yet.
And here below is a short video with photos of the squirrel that I made into a quick video … where he finds one of the leaves and chows down on it. Oh yum, yum.
He ate all three of the “propeller” leaves that I’d left there, then he scooted back over to the trees and chattered at me a bit (I was standing outside within a few feet of him all the time), and then he zoomed up the tree. Turn your sound on.
A few second later, he zoomed DOWN the next tree over (video below).
Later that afternoon, he reappeared up in the small branches of the trees (video below).
And then, the next day, we repeated that whole scenario … I put a few of his favorite leaves on the ground, he ate them, then he climbed up the tree trunk, then he did his acrobatic act up on those small branches. Below is a video of some photos of him up in those branches.
I swear he stopped and looked right at me several times.
On the third day, this happened again … same scenario. Except this time I did not put the leaves on the ground … I put them on the top of one of the large roots of that nearby tree. You may be able to see them on top of the green moss, at the front edge of the moss. In the video below, you’ll see how close he is to my truck and trailer, and to me. I had placed five or six leaves out there on that root near the end of the moss. By the time I took this video, he had eaten most of them, and was curled up closer to the tree trunk, tho still on the large root. The video below shows how close I was, standing outside the trailer, not hiding behind the door. In fact, I was usually sitting in a chair out there. He knew I was there!
In the last two photos below, you can see the uneaten “propeller” leaves out at the end of that green moss. And you can see that he had now woken up a bit from his nap, and stretched out … stretched out all four legs, and his tail was flat on the tree. He stayed there like that for quite a while, looking around a bit, sometimes looking right at me, but he certainly was relaxed and was never in a hurry to get up and leave.
Best neighbor anyone could have. And I hope he thought that of me too. 🙂
So cool! What a fun little fellow! 🙂 And how wonderful of you to take the time and awareness to figure out what he likes to eat. I wish you were in charge of the world right now!! Best neighbors indeed.
Thanks for your comment, Olivia. I like being a good neighbor!
I like the new header. Got used to the one with pink flowers and I liked that one too, but now I can’t remember what the flowers were, ha! I really liked it but even after just seeing this new one once, I can’t remember what the old one was. We are so fickle! I love all your photo headers, Ann. 🙂 Is there a story about the deer?
Yes, how quickly we forget, me too Joe. The flowers were Rhododendrons and they were beautiful. But these deer are too. They were lying on the lawn behind my house! You can read more of the story by going to the “Header photos” link at the top of this webpage … then scroll down to the bottom to see this most recent header photo.
Amazing. How you connect with nature. You will never go hungry, the world will feed you. It comes around, for sure!
I like your thought Kinny! What we do creates energy in the universe that then comes back to us. I like that.
Such a small animal, but such a large life. And you recognized it, and fed it, and cared for it. Gives me hope. And it’s fun stuff. 🙂
Indeed, doesn’t matter to me that the squirrel appears to be smaller than I am. It really is a full-sized person, the SAME as I am.
I bet you were both sad when you left. I had a chipmunk at a campsite once, and a red squirrel at another location that visited me to see if there were any good things they could eat.
I didn’t mention that in the blog post, Dawn, but you are absolutely right. When I finally drove away on the last morning here, I opened my truck window and chittered and chattered, hoping I was saying a nice good-bye to that squirrel. And I left him some propeller leaves in the two spots where I’d already done that before. I hope he’s ok.
I didn’t realize your squirrels were a different species. But squirrels always seem delightful to me.
I think the eastern parts of the USA (and Canada?) have mostly their native grey squirrels. We have LOTS of grey squirrels out here too, but they aren’t native, and they certainly aren’t endangered! There are places/organizations that are reducing the number of grey squirrels so the Douglas Squirrels can survive.
I thought grey squirrels were native to the west coast, maybe they are too? What fun you had with this Douglas. I wonder if he was showing off and trying to attract your attention by acrobating in the trees once he knew you would feed him.
Nope, grey squirrels are not native to the west coast … only Douglas Squirrels are native here. There are, however, I swear, a billion trillion grey squirrels here, and the number of Douglas Squirrels is declining. How the Greys got here from the east, I don’t know, but as mentioned in my reply to FG’s comment above, there is an effort here to reduce the number of Grey Squirrels so the Douglas Squirrels survive.
Ha, fun comment about why he was acrobating, Walt, I like it. 🙂
We both loved this! We’ve watched the videos more than once. That little fellow sure is a friend of yours and vice versa. I bet he still misses you. So, how long do Douglas Squirrels live? Might he still be there if you went back there this year?
Oh, we love the new header photo too. You sure do take excellent photos.
The internet tells me that the lifespan of a Douglas Squirrel in the wild is from 5-8 years. So yes he might be there when I go camping there again. That would be cool! When I go there again, I will try to get that same campsite, and I will sit outside and wait for him with a few propeller leaves on the ground. 🙂
Thanks for the nice comment, and compliment, M&M. 🙂
Maple leaves! That’s what they are. They have a core seed (sometimes two seeds) in between the two leaves and squirrels love them. They’ll eat the entire leaf structure and then chow down on the seeds in the middle. You were so clever and kind to watch that fellow and figure out what he liked. And then you picked it for him, No wonder he did acrobatics for you. 🙂
They are commonly called propeller leaves because when they disconnect from the mother tree they then swirl in circles, spinning rapidly, down to the next branch and/or down to the ground.
Maple leaves! Thank you Ruby! And thank you the description of why they are so commonly called propeller leaves. I didn’t even know that, any of that, and still I called them propeller leaves simply because that’s what they look like and how they act in the air. And yes, he ate the two leaves first, then ended by eating the seed/center. Thank you. 🙂
What a lovely experience. Your Douglas Squirrel looks similar to our native Red Squirrel and is equally acrobatic. We thought grey squirrels were native to the USA, are they not? What a fun time you had with your friend. That made all of us smile. Thank you.
I looked up Red Squirrels online just now, and they sure do look similar to the Douglas Squirrel. I like that. Grey Squirrels are native to the eastern parts of North America, not the west coast. I guess the dry midwest and then the large Rocky Mountain range divide their territory. The Greys have migrated to the west recently however, or they were brought here, but the Douglas Squirrels are native and who we love. 🙂 Thanks Henry (and your friends).
Love the new header. I bet there’s a story behind it. 🙂
Here’s to your new buddy the Douglas Squirrel. Hmmm, maybe his name is “Douglas”?
Yes, the header has a story. 🙂 Check the “Header photos” link at the top of this webpage, then scroll down to the bottom of all of the header photos I’ve used and you can read the little paragraph about these four sweet young deer.
When I go camping there again, I will try for that same campsite … and I will sit and call “Douglas, come get your propeller leaves right here!” 🙂 Thanks Babe.