Believe it or not, this charming picnic table for squirrels is inspiring a wacky new viral trend.
Yes, you read that right – it’s a freakin’ picnic table for squirrels, aka fat rats with fluffy tails!
While it sounds totally crazy, copycats from all over the world are making their own version of this cutesy DIY to keep themselves from going insane during The Great Quarantine of 2020.
2 weeks of isolation and we’re out here making picnic tables for squirrels because we’re insane pic.twitter.com/8WfHwyJQA4
— Lucy Small (@lucyleid) March 31, 2020
No thanks to something else that’s gone viral around the world, Rick Kalinowski had to shutter his Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania plumbing and HVAC business.
What’s a bloke with too much time on his hands supposed to do when he’s stuck in the house all day?
After running through the gamut of Netflix shows, this 43-year-old decided to do something more productive. Like build a dining table for the nutty rascals who were obviously in need of a comfy place to sit down and munch.
Using scraps of wood that were leftover from a deck he previously built, Rick got to work on making a tiny bench for the pudgy rodents. That way, the wild little critters wouldn’t get stuff like dirt and leaves all over their food.
After he posted photos and videos of his mad creation on social media, everyone came down with mini picnic table fever and wanted one of their own!
That’s when examples of other people’s creations starting flowing in, like this one from Jayson Elliot and his corn-loving squirrel.
Rick loves watching the squirrels in his backyard frolic and play they don’t have a care in the world. That, along with his morning cup of coffee, makes him happy – an emotion many of us are having a hard time grasping right now.
In an interview with Ladbible, Rick said:
“I wake up at sunrise and have done for years, just to feed the squirrels and fill the bird feeders. I make my coffee, put on the morning news and watch everyone eat. I buy a variety of nuts and seeds for the squirrels along with fresh cut fruit, it brings me happiness especially during these uncertain times.”
A woman named Lana Stewart also jumped in on this trendy bandwagon, and showed off the mid-century house she built for her furry friends.
Granted, it’s not quite a picnic table, but at least her little guy’s have a roof over their head when it starts to rain. ‘Cause no one likes munching on wet, soggy nuts!
Rick’s photo has now even inspired her to build an add-on for the spoiled squirrels.
Since regular life wasn’t going to resume anytime soon, Rick actually created a brand new Etsy business to sell these cute little benches because lots of people wanted to buy one!
It’s called, humorously enough, Squirrelly Treasure Co.
Within 48 hours of setting up his Etsy shop, Rick had 300 orders come in. His family is now helping him build the benches, but he also sells DIY kits on his shop, too.
To date, there have been almost 1,000 sales in just a few short weeks! A lot of them have been local to the Philly area, but some have come from places like Texas and California.
Rick never expected any of this to happen when the world shut down, but it’s certainly been a blessing in disguise.
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