Choose a name (blog giveaway)

It is summer in the lovely Kentmere valley. 

After a gentle evening stroll along the lane we reach the little post box into which local folk pop their letters. The mail is collected every day from here just as it is from all the other country post boxes around Britain.

Wild flowers bloom in profusion along roadside verges and the pretty heads of ox-eye daisies nod as we pass.

Field boundaries are made from stone which has been gathered from the surrounding hills. They are known as dry stone walls as no cement has been used to hold stones in place. Each stone is carefully placed on top of the one below. This method of building has been used for several centuries and some walls are several centuries old.

These dry stone walls are home to many living things. Tiny ferns grow out of damp crevices whilst foxgloves thrive in the soil below.

Let's scatter a few hazelnuts on top of a wall and wait to see if anyone finds them. We don't have to wait long before a tiny red squirrel comes bounding along to examine the offering more closely.

These nuts are a favourite food of squirrels. After a quick sniff this little character decides a nut will make a jolly good meal and scampers back along the wall with it firmly clasped in its mouth.

On the nearby grass the nut is taken from the mouth.

Now a suitable hiding place must be found for it. Nuts, acorns and seeds are often buried in readiness for winter but of course they are rarely found again by the same squirrel. Squirrels regularly search for food that has been hidden in this way and eat any tasty morsels that they come across. This carefully buried nut will no doubt be discovered later in the year by a completely different squirrel.

I'm guessing this young animal was part of a litter born this spring. Youngsters leave the nest to do their own foraging when they are around seven weeks old and this little Kentmere squirrel will need to eat plenty of food and get a lot plumper if it is to survive the cold wet winter ahead.

BLOG GIVEAWAY

Can you think of a name that would suit this little cutie?

If you can think of a suitable name for this young squirrel and would like to be included in my blog giveaway then please write the chosen name in the comments box below before Friday 2nd August (only one name per entrant please).

On Friday 2nd August I will transfer all the names to a new blog post and give each name a number. I'll then use an online random number generator to pick a number and the name that corresponds with it will be the giveaway winner.

I'm hoping bloggers from around the world will enter a name.

The winner will be sent a 38 page booklet about the Lake District plus a bar of traditional Lakeland mint cake. Its not actually a cake but a sugar-rich minty-flavoured bar that gives extra energy to mountain climbers and people walking in the great outdoors. (Also suitable as sugary treat whilst relaxing in a comfy chair watching TV !!). Finally, as a little keepsake I will print a small bookmark showing the squirrel's picture, name and date.

I'll look forward to seeing which names are chosen.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

(Thank you to my friend Ian for photographing this young Kentmere squirrel)