Squirrels don’t hibernate in the winter months, so they have to find ways to make do with 
the nasty and cold weather of that season just like people do. We’re fortunate in that the only things we have to unbury from a snowstorm are our vehicles and maybe the sidewalk or driveway. Squirrels, on the other hand, tend to keep their food stashes underground… and that often forces them to go outside and find said sustenance that they hid underground, which now has several inches of snow on top of it!
The biggest snowfall we’ve had in my fourteen years at The Nest’s current location happened over the first weekend of 2014. Nearly a foot of snow fell on January 4th, and the subfreezing temperatures that followed ensured that the snow was going to be here to stay for a while. The squirrels were going to have to leave their nests, and my 21st favorite Saturday Squirrel of All Time was one such unfortunate creature…
I know I had a nice, tasty nut waiting for me somewhere in this spot…
Maybe it’s down here?
Sigh! Nope…
How about over here?
Dammit!!!
I feel like Scrat from Ice Age!
I’ll just check on the other side of the fence….
ACORN!!! Where are you!?!?
Poor, cold, snow covered squirrel. Hopefully he found his nut and had a nice cup of hot chocolate waiting for him back at the nest….
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I’m no man but I can feel it anyway.. LOL
You don’t need actual balls to be cold in that snow!
Great pics! But yikes… that had to be nippy.
Poor guys. I’d have invited him inside, but the cats would have eaten him….
I feel sorry for our squirrels in the cold weather – no snow here but December was bitingly cold. We put out extra acorns.
Gah, I know I stashed some nuts here somewhere! 🐿️
That boy needs a snowsuit!
Pam
They don’t hibernate like bears, but they do “hunker down” and sleep a lot through the coldest months. Or maybe it’s just our New England squirrels who do that. Regardless, it’s not a full hibernation, but they sleep deeply and long — and don’t eat much. This year, because it was warm for most of the winter, a lot of squirrels were more active than usual. And they started breeding very early in the winter — in February rather than April.
Poor little guy. Maybe in later years he was more careful with his handling of his nuts…