This article was originally written by Kate Pounds for SWNS — the U.K.’s largest independent news agency, providing globally relevant original, verified, and engaging content to the world’s leading media outlets.
In retired high school guidance counselor Nancy Rose’s imagination, squirrels drink tea, take baths, go bowling, and partake in many other day-to-day activities your average human might enjoy. Those are just a few of the whimsical scenes the 72-year-old has dreamed up and brought to life with the help of a willing cast of characters that frequent her backyard.
A nature lover and lifelong crafter, Rose takes adorable photos of American red squirrels posing with miniature props and backdrops she creates. She took up the hobby over 15 years ago and has since featured the images in her series of children’s books, The Secret Life of Squirrels, as well as in calendars and puzzles.
“Watching the squirrels in my garden always made me laugh. They would come and eat nuts and seeds from my hand,” the grandmother of two shared. “I thought, ‘Maybe I can use the nuts to get them to interact with fun scenes.’”
She works for up to 12 hours a day crafting the sets before posting up in the window of her home in Nova Scotia, Canada, to wait for the critters to sniff out the snacks she strategically places for them. “Waiting to get the shot I’m after is like meditation,” Rose explained. “Mostly I love the challenges and it makes me so happy when my shots work out as planned.”
One series of scenes took her five months to make and shows a squirrel traveling across the country. She published those photos last year in her latest kids’ book, Oakley’s Great Canadian Adventure.
While the income from these varies, Rose said her pastime brings in about $50,000 a year.
“It’s a great hobby for sure, and is certainly helping with my retirement. I feel very lucky that people like them,” she shared. “It is not what I expected. I had no idea it would make money; it was just a great way to relax after my working day, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Rose makes all her props and scenery from reused materials around her home or items donated by her local community. She has a garage where she keeps her creations, but her house is full of them too. “I’m just not good at getting rid of things,” she said.
The first piece she made for the squirrels was a post box, then a barbecue. Now she has hundreds of props, including the Canadian Rockies constructed out of Styrofoam.
One of her favorites is a little pizza shop, complete with an oven and a pizza paddle with a tiny pizza on it. It took 500 photos before she got one with a squirrel holding his pizza on the paddle.
She waited four hours to photograph another favorite: a squirrel sitting on a chair at a table in a café scene where it looks like the animal is eating poutine, a classic Canadian dish of fries covered in cheese chunks and gravy.
“I love crafting. When I was a child I’d see something in the shops and just think ‘Oh, I’ll make that,’” explained Rose, who first shared the story on Sell Us Your Story. She added: “It’s a great way to keep busy, and it’s introduced me to a new community of people who all like squirrels. I just love it.”
Rose makes a new scene each spring and autumn because the light is best and the squirrels are most active, she explained. In winter she covers her open window with a Styrofoam slab and pokes her camera lens through a hole she made so the house she shares with her husband doesn’t get too cold.
She estimates she spends up to $1,200 on peanuts and sunflower seeds each year.
None of her photos are edited — they’re all about creativity, craftsmanship, patience. Oh, and peanut butter, which she smears on the props she wants the squirrels to pick up in their mouths.
She said she enjoys “how happy it makes other people,” adding: “It’s a fun way to counter all the negative stuff online.”
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