Several times now the orava have come to visit as I sit and type by one of the windows in Juovva (where I am staying at Kevo).

    The Orava

    Orava
    The orava is otherwise known as the Eurasian red squirrel.

    The Latin name for the orava is Sciurus vulgaris. As you can see from the photo, the Eurasian red squirrel is different from the American red squirrel, whose Latin name is Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. In summer the orava’s coat is brown, but in winter they have longer, thicker gray fur. You can tell this squirrel is in the process of shedding its winter coat.

    Orava
    Check out the ear tufts on the orava!

    Orava
    The two who visited this day seemed to be very familiar with the area.

    The ear tufts on these critters really look fantastic. "Too Cute" would be a good way to describe them! Apparently these are a common squirrel in Eurasia, and live about three years if they make it through their first winter.

    Sammy the Sik Sik

    There happens to be another squirrel visiting Juovva, Sammy the Sik Sik. A sik sik is an Arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii). Sammy is a very special sik sik that is the mascot of another PolarTREC teacher, Alicia Gillean. She is based at the Toolik Field Station on the north slope of Alaska, and is working with Arctic ground squirrels. Check out her journals!

    Alicia asked people to take Sammy on his own adventures, so Sammy the Sik Sik came to Finland. As you can tell, he gets along really well with Scotty!

    Scotty & Sammy
    Scotty and Sammy trade stories about their respective PolarTREC adventures.

    There are no ground squirrels around here. There are plenty of trees, so the tree-living orava is well adapted to the ecosystem around Kevo.

    Orava
    The orava, or Eurasian red squirrel, is a tree squirrel. OK, so I guess that is pretty obvious!

    Field Day Bonus for a cold, windy day: Flowers!

    Petsikko and the surrounding area were just a-blooming with flowers today!

    One of my favorites is the cottongrass:

    Cottongrass
    The cottongrass at Petsikko seemed to come out of nowhere! It is really tall compared to what I am used to seeing in interior Alaska.

    Then there is the tiny mountain heath flower that overwhelms not with size but with numbers…

    Mountain Heath Carpet
    The mountain birch woodlands surrounding Petsikko are carpeted with mountain heath, Phyllodoce caerulea.

    Mountain Heath
    These small flowers are only about 1-2 inches high, but collectively they make up a mass of color.

    Author
    Date
    Location
    Kevo
    Weather Summary
    Cool, windy, rain showers
    Temperature
    41
    Wind Speed
    20

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