Watch head, and keys, around squirrels

Squirrels have more personality than a lot of people I know.

As peak summer arrives this week, vacationers, visitors to parks and campers are likely to have encounters during which they can watch the little fellows do their thing: you know, scamper about, scoot from tree to tree, and maybe raid your campsite for a peanut.

Not all squirrels are charming rascals out for a nut. Some can go rogue.

Last week, a squirrel went after me in a surprise attack, and it’s not the first time for such an encounter. California has several squirrel-like critters: the gray squirrel, Douglas squirrel, ground squirrel, chipmunk and chickaree. I love those little guys, but they all have a shadow side.

First lesson: At dawn at camp, all but submerged in my sleeping bag, a pine cone thumped me in the head. I let out a squawk, and yet on the other side of camp, Foonski appeared in deep sleep. Ten minutes later, Foonski let out a roar, and then whistled a pine cone over my head in response. A squirrel was above us in the pine trees, had trimmed the cones to the core, and then dropped them on our heads. Turns out we had camped in his feeding zone. Ground squirrel bandit: A buddy of mine, Wayne, planned to take a photo where it looked as if a chipmunk was reading my camping book. At a picnic table, Wayne set up the book, and then with some pistachios, baited in a ground squirrel (which looks like a chipmunk with the stripes on its sides, but without stripes on its head). When the pistachios were gone, Wayne then jangled his car keys to lure in the little fellow. The ground squirrel darted up to the table, grabbed his keys and scampered into his hole. Adios, keys.

Grabby chipmunk: The nice lady with a sweet tooth was sitting back at a trail lunch and decided to give a chipmunk a piece of her last chocolate chip cookie. The chipmunk responded by snatching the whole cookie, and the woman was left empty-handed and “devastated.”

Bombs away: It happened again Friday morning. In a big Ponderosa pine, a squirrel bombed me with the core of a gnawed-away pine cone. Squirrels are cute. But they can go rogue.