Now that I know so much more about squirrel behavior, I will be watching them more closely. I am most interested in identify plants seeing young squirrels. According to what I read, they also chase each other around. I don't recall ever seeing small squirrels so I am wondering if they are like pigeons and the young attain adult size before leaving the nest. I didn't find any information on the size of squirrels when they leave the nest, only their age, 10 weeks. We had our first snow of the year last night. It was just a dusting. Not enough to insulate the gardens from the accompanying arctic front. The outdoor temperature has dropped to the teens and 20's with subzero windchills. New Jersey doesn't normally get a lot of snow so I use leaves to insulate my gardens. Getting them there is easy. In the fall, I only rake the lawn leaving the leaves that have fallen or blown into the gardens. Getting them out of the gardens is much more laborious. Especially since I usually wait until April to begin raking them out and by then a lot of bulbs and perennials are growing. This year, I think I will be brave and start uncovering the gardens in March. Not only will it be easier to rake out the leaves, but it will also leave me time in April to enlarge the flower beds and ready them for planting in May. I am steadily digging up my lawn.