If you can't figure out what to do with the hoards of acorns Mother Nature is piling up on your lawn right now, here's an idea.
Donate them.
The Association to Rescue Kritters (ARK) in St. Helen has taken in 18 orphaned baby squirrels who won't be able to get through the winter on their own.
The northern Michigan shelter is asking for donations of acorns and sunflower seeds to help feed them until they're big enough to take care of themselves.
"We'll release them in the spring once the trees and the foliage come back and bloom and they're able to learn to forage and build nests," said shelter president Sherry Goff.
Goff said squirrels typically have two birthing cycles throughout the year, including one in August.
Still, she said it's unusual for the shelter to take in this many in the fall.
"It seems like every year, we have an excess of a particular animal. This year, it just happens to be squirrels," Goff said.
Goff said baby squirrels the shelter receives start off in foster homes, where they receive round-the-clock care, including syringe-feedings.
Once they get bigger, the squirrels will return to the shelter until it's time to release them.
