Grandpa (a.k.a. my dad) came for his weekly visit today. Toward the end of his visit we went for a short walk in the neighborhood. "You have the blackest squirrels down here," he remarked. I couldn't remember the story of the black squirrels so I looked it up (in Wikipedia) when I got home: "Black squirrels were introduced to the National Zoo in Washington, DC in 1902. Since that time they have spread into surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia."

According to this Washington Post article, 18 Canadian squirrels were released at the Zoo that year; no one knows why exactly.

But we are not the only town to have them. "Marysville, Kansas is known as "Black Squirrel City" and you can be fined if you run over or kill one there. The town celebrates its heritage by having an annual "Black Squirrel Night"."