Calender Girls - January Blog Hop!

Calender Girls- January Blog Hop!

Welcome to our January Calendar Girls' Blog Hop. Its absolutely amazing when you do a google search the interesting facts you may find. Such a find is special and unique occasions throughout the yea!!! These unique holidays are our inspiration. As Neil Sedaka sang in his song "Calendar Girls" - "January you start the year out fine".

The hop starts with Edwina!! You won't want to miss a single calendar event!!!!


We have a super sponsor this month -  The Stamping Chef, who has graciously offered 3 digis of the lucky winners choice.

Squirrel Appreciation Day:

In honor of Squirrel Aprreciation Day I have given you 21 informational facts!;

1. There are more than 200 squirrel species worldwide, from tree squirrels and flying squirrels to chipmunks and marmots. They're all in the Sciuridae family, which is native to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

2. Squirrels range in size from the five-inch African pygmy squirrel to the three-foot Indian giant squirrel.

3. Squirrels have four front teeth that grow continuously, at a rate of about six inches per year. This helps their incisors endure the constant gnawing.

4. The NASDAQ stock market was briefly shut down in 1987 and 1994 due to squirrels chewing through power lines.

5. In 2005, a pack of squirrels in Russia reportedly killed a stray dog that was barking at them. They may have been starving due to a pine cone shortage.

6. Adult squirrels normally live alone, but they sometimes nest in groups during severe cold spells. A group of squirrels is called a "scurry" or "dray."

7. When squirrels hide food for winter, they often dig fake holes to fool would-be thieves. To make sure they don't fool themselves, they lick their food before burying it, leaving a scent they can later detect even under snow.

8. All tree squirrels belong to the genus Sciurus, which comes from the Greek words "skia" (shadow) and "oura" (tail). The name reportedly reflects tree squirrels' habit of hiding in the shadow of their long, bushy tails.

9. The eastern gray squirrel is the most common tree squirrel species in the U.S., and humans have helped introduce it not only to western North America, but also to Europe and South Africa.

10. The eastern gray has become a pest in the U.K., where it threatens the survival of smaller, native red squirrels. This has made it popular for Britons to eat gray squirrels, part of a global trend toward eating invasive species.

11. There's also a rich history of eating native squirrels in the U.S., where they've long been used in dishes like Kentucky burgoo and Brunswick stew. Squirrel meat has fallen out of favor lately — especially that of flying squirrels, which are relatively rare — but many Americans still hunt and eat eastern grays.

12. Tree squirrels mostly eat nuts, seeds and fruit, but they are omnivores. Gray squirrels, for example, have been known to eat insects, snails, bird eggs and animal carcasses when other food is scarce.

13. Better hope those carcasses aren't too rancid, though — squirrels, like many rodents, can't vomit. (They also can't burp or experience heartburn.)

14. The average adult squirrel needs about a pound of food per week.

15. A 2010 study found that some squirrels collect old rattlesnake skin, chew it up and then lick their fur, creating a kind of "rattlesnake perfume" that helps them hide from the smell-dependent predators.

16. All-black or white tree squirrels may look like distinct species, but in most cases they're actually just color variations of gray squirrels.

17. An eastern gray "rally squirrel" became an impromptu mascot for Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals when it ran onto the field during the 2011 playoffs. The Cardinals went on to win the World Series.

18. Flying squirrels can't really fly — they just use flaps of skin between their limbs to glide through the air — but it often seems like they can. Their acrobatic leaps between trees often span up to 150 feet.

19. Red squirrels are solitary and highly territorial, but in some rare cases they've been known to adopt orphaned pups of their relatives.

20. Marmots are celebrated as weather forecasters in the U.S. and Canada, but their skills are a bit overhyped. Punxsutawney Phil's predictions were mostly wrong between 1988 and 2010, for example, while a study of Canadian groundhogs found their success rate was only 37 percent over 30 to 40 years.

21. Squirrels communicate using complex systems of high-frequency chirps and tail movements. Studies have also found they're capable of watching and learning from each other — especially if it relates to stealing food.

Now on to my card!

 

For this card I purchased the heart paper at hobby lobby.

I used my Create a Critter 2 cricut cartridge to make the squirrel, added some stickles to the tail and eyes. The bow I used ribbon from walmart and the rhinestone I purchased from my dear friend Miriam's store. I printed the saying out on some white card stock and used CTMH - Blush to ink the edges. O and the Squirrel WIGGLES!!! I used action wiggles to make it wiggle! The rhinestones on the edges I also purchased from Miriam's store!

My next project is Ditch New Years Resolution Day!:

If you’ve held out for over a fortnight into the new year, you’re doing well! However, we’ve reached the crunch point; January 17th is the most common date to give up on your resolutions, it’s marked by Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day.

Here is my card:

For this card I used some paper that I purchased a LONG time ago, so I don't know where I got it at! I printed the sayings out on white card stock and I inked the edges with CTMH- blush. I the pears i purchased from Miriam's store of course!.

The line-up for January includes:

 Edwina

Miriam

  Lucy

  Janet

Kimberly

Lynne

 Anita

Jearise

 Me!!

Vicky

Your next stop along the way of the calendar is Vicky. Thanks for stopping by and mark your calendar again next month to see what Holidays to Celebrate on February 9, 2013, for the next Calendar Girls Blog Hop!