

All this? For me?! Photo submitted by FormerFed206.

On Saturday, Post Local columnist and squirrel aficionado, John Kelly took to The Buzz to post about Squirrel Appreciation Day — a prelude to D.C. Squirrel Week (mark April 8-14 on your calendars).

During last year’s D.C. Squirrel Week, readers submitted more than 150 squirrel photos to our squirrel UGC gallery. Saturday’s holiday revived the gallery, and photo submissions of the Sciuridae (the family of medium-sized rodents to which squirrels belong) have poured in since last week.

We also posted about Squirrel Appreciation Day on the Post’s Facebook page, where readers shared their love (and occasionally, loathing) for the bushy-tailed creatures. Some sample comments:

•Ah nuts! I almost missed it.....

•I almost got attacked by a squirrel in a parking garage, I’m terrified by it!

•That explains all the nuts in DC.

•Three in my backyard right now. Scarfing seeds in the snow. Lovely, fascinating creatures, and smarter than most people.

And perhaps, the most aww-inducing anecdote:

•One Halloween I wasn't into waiting for the doorbell to ring or the knock on the door for the trick or treaters. So I put a bowl on the steps with small sized M&M Peanuts packs, went in and closed the door. A little later I went out side to check the bowl, it was empty. I turned around and on the patio, three squirrels were opening each bags individually with their small hands and eating the candy.

While some may dismiss squirrels as journalistic puffery, the comments — and the time readers spent uploading photos and sharing stories about their encounters — showed that the topic struck a deeper chord in our community.

Even though Squirrel Week is still a couple months away, we want to see your photos. Upload them to the gallery linked above.

Seriously, go nuts.

Related:

Your squirrel photos

Squirrel Appreciation Day: Let’s hear it for Sciuridae

#DCSquirrelWeek: Columnist John Kelly uncovers the mysteries of the common squirrel

Q&A: Everything you ever wanted to know about squirrels