by brenton crozier
What images come to mind when you hear, “The World’s Most Photographed Squirrel?” Perhaps you are envisioning a giant, freak-of-nature sized squirrel that is terrorizing a small community in Middle America, eating the townsfolk’s small pets. I’m not sure how said giant-sized squirrel acquired a taste for blood, but this scenario takes a leap in logic anyway. Maybe you are even conjuring up a 3 armed, 2 tailed squirrel that was the unlucky victim of a nuclear waste run-in. According to my website find this week, the world’s most photographed squirrel is the rather debonair Sugar Bush.
Sugar Bush’s website is a treasure trove of creepy fantastic-ness. So here’s the skinny on the squirrel. Ms. Kelly Foxton, a former military pinup girl and country singer, rescued this squirrel as a baby and has raised it into a total diva. Sugar Bush is dressed in custom-made apparel and photographed on intricate sets—all squirrel sized and separately themed.
There are two common reflexes when a visitor sees Sugar Bush in all his splendor for the first time. Is that squirrel dead and the finished product of a talented taxidermist? This accusation is common and often brought up in blogs that discuss the site. Ms. Foxton assures fans that Sugar Bush is indeed alive and she even had Sugar Bush put on a kung-fu display to silence naysayers. The second usual reaction to this site is: Is this animal cruelty? Only if you think dressing a squirrel to look fabulous and making it an Internet phenomenon is cruel. Who needs natural habitat when you have that robust of a wardrobe and are dubbed “The Superstar Squirrel?” Let’s face it, a squirrel’s life isn’t that great. Car dodging, nut gathering and tree tag are as good as it gets . . . but not for Sugar Bush.
This website has enough content to entertain for hours upon hours. Whether you are looking to entertain your office or find some amusing fodder to complement drinking with some buddies, Sugar Bush is the squirrel for you. The home page alone contains nearly 150 delightful pictures. Ms. Foxton has a particular affinity for military garb and sends Sugar Bush on terrorist-stopping missions. This squirrel takes on more personas than Sybil, ranging from an American military hero and 2008 presidential candidate to a full-fledged geisha and Star Trek captain. This is the Baskin-Robbins of themed squirrel photography!
I highly encourage you to pace yourself when exploring this site. You will feel over stimulated if you try to take on too much in one viewing. I’ve known about this website for a couple of years, and still find new content whenever I visit it. No, it’s not in my bookmarks and it’s not part of my daily Internet rounds, but it is inevitable when bobbing and weaving through blogs or office conversations about those sites that you “Totally need to see dude.”
Sugar Bush items are available for sale that include calendars, note cards and stuffed animals. If you feel particularly moved to do so, you can join Sugar Bush’s fan club. This site is a feast of kitsch goodness. As mentioned before, just search Sugar Bush squirrel and visit the numerous blogs that discuss the site. After a visit with Sugar Bush, you will never view squirrels the same.
There are really no smooth segues from Sugar Bush. In fact, there are a number of websites dealing with squirrels in so many ways . . . and often times in a very creepy manner. Not creepy fantastic, just plain creepy. But one of my discoveries through the world of the Internet was http://orgs.unt.edu/asps/sga.htm. This is a site dedicated to student activities and organizations at the University of North Texas. The specific page that I referenced is an initiative made by a student to have the albino squirrel replace the eagle as the University’s secondary mascot. My initial thought was what a clever student, but upon further reading, you discover that this student is serious with logic like: “The Albino Squirrel is unique in the animal kingdom, as is our university one of a kind among Texas public institutions of higher learning.” Even better are the names suggested for the albino squirrel mascot: Blanca, Thelonious, Enya, Precious and Lightning. I bet mom and dad are glad to see their good money going to these fine academic pursuits. It’s no Sugar Bush, but it is a gem of junk Internet substance, albeit a bit squirrelly.
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