Breyana Elwell never liked rodents, but after it became clear the neighboring squirrels were suffering from the heat, she began to warm to them.
Living in New Braunfels, Texas, she maintains a sort of “squirrel resort” where the arboreal rodents can stop by, cool down, grab a bite, and lounge until the heat of the day passes.
It all started when Elwell was playing with her toddler out on the deck and the mother of two left a fan on after they were finished. A local squirrel came to realize the value of the fan and plopped himself on the railing to cool down.
There was a drought at the time, and she remembered that the animal looked full of relief, so the next morning she put new batteries in the fan and switched it on again. This time, two squirrels came to visit.
After she put a video of the rodents on her TikTok account, companies began sending her free fans to help cool more squirrels down, leading to a totally new and unforeseen hobby as far as Elwell was concerned—general management of a squirrel resort.
Building little tables and attaching them to the side of trees, squirrels can now stay outside Elwell’s house and bask in the breeze of the fans while munching on nuts, corn, and fruit frozen in ice cubes—a must in the over 100°F heat.
She placed logs between the trees to act as paths, built a courtyard for them to stay in, designed specialized feeders, bought some stylish wooden decor from the thrift stores in the area, and even hooked up a water fountain.
Every day she lugs the whole resort complex out around 50 feet from the deck and sets it all up—needing around 2 hours to finish the job. She takes it down every night to ensure the dogs that frolic around their 5-acre property don’t destroy it.
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“As much as it is for them, it’s for me as well,” Elwell told the Washington Post, covering her curious hobby. She added that her sons, ages 3 and 10, love watching the squirrels. “It’s very therapeutic.”
“It can be pricey,” Elwell said. “It brings joy to me and others, so it’s just worth it. I never thought in a million years this would be something I would turn into a hobby.”
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In general, one should never feed or care for wild animals. As soon as they learn that easier pickings are available adjacent to humans, they will abandon their wild lifestyle and instincts, largely to their own detriment. However, squirrels are not jaguars, and as anyone who has visited a city park knows, tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of squirrels around the country already negotiate human civilization on a daily basis.
WATCH the squirrels relax for yourself…
@breeintheforest The cutest little muffins 🐿️🥜 #fyp #trend #squirrel #deer #hot #summer #viral #resort #furbaby #wholesome #kindness ♬ Somewhere Only We Know - rhianne
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