_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, November 21, 2008

Tree Rats

So, I stepped out of the shop door and found this varmint in the black currant tree about five feet from my face. I happened to have the Sony in hand and snapped a couple of shots just for you.

No fear. At all. She's hungry, apparently. Well, that and she's used to me I guess. And she reminded me that I need to fill the squirrel feeders. Those black currants are nasty, bland and tasteless and frozen into little BB pellets.

How she avoids becoming eagle food, I don't know - especially since I've seen three Bald Eagles this morning, two adults and a juvenile in speckled plumage. She's quick though and maybe that's it. She lives in the spruce tree down my back hill and can make it a hundred yards to the currant tree or the feeder without once setting foot on the ground. Amazing agility, wish I had it.

So, there you go, Squirrel Bloggin Friday.

13 comments:

  1. We sometimes overlook that natural selection works both ways, my friend: she most likely comes of a fleet line of wily hiding squirrels, and you're liable to seeing the fastest and eagle-dodgiest of her children in years to come.

    Sorry. With my accuracy record on today's predictions, I just fed your squirrel to the birds. I probably shouldn't have written this at all. Too late.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How she avoids becoming eagle food, I don't know...

    Avoid being eagle food...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would like to nominate Karl for winner of the thread.

    If Jim hasn't seen any dead eagles, Karl's picture still suggests another, similar way in which she has avoided being eagle food:

    "I am not the meal you are looking for."

    "You are not the meal I am looking for."

    "I should be allowed to run up that tree."

    "She should be allowed to run up that tree."

    "Alright, move along."

    "Alright, move along."

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with Eric...

    Squirrel to Jim - you will fill the squirrel feeder
    Jim - I will fill the squirrel feeder

    See, it already worked!!

    plus, I think she's related to the one that lives in the woods behind my apartment. Mine will sit very patiently, or drape artfully, across the large branch on the Japanese Cherry Tree outside my balcony. Even wait while I go get the camera and snap a few shots.

    Critters are funny.

    WendyB_09

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here's another possibility, though I think she learned her caginess from watching Jim stalking the mailbox bandits...

    Simply inedible...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hate squirrels.

    Nasty little rodents, they are.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You're obviously not cooking them correctly then, Janiece.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That squirrel looks pretty fat.

    Fun squirrel story:
    On a particularly gloomy Friday two years ago as I was about a half block from work I saw two crows attacking a squirrel. They kept diving at it and pecking at it and while the squirrel would contort its body to fend them off and run at the same time, it was being driven away from the safety of the trees and towards the street. As soon as the crows drove it into the street WHAM! a car in the opposite lane hit the squirrel. As soon as the car was gone the crows dove down to finish off the rodent.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The crow-or raven?- smarter than an average rodent. Also, traffic aware.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Obviously this is Ratatosk who carries messages up and down the Yggdrasil. An eagle would only eat this squirrel at it's own peril.

    Oh, and maybe Janiece should try stewing them. I mean she might be fricasseeing stewing squirrels.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unless it's a frying squirrel...

    But that would explain it getting away from the eagles. If it could fry better.





    ::bans self::

    ReplyDelete
  12. Now see, I gave Jim too much credit. When I first glanced at this photo, instead of suspecting that he has squirrel feeders (WTF, over?) on his property, I thought this was an awesome, awesome example of action photography, and that those black currants were actually buckshot from his Mossberg, meaning that he had captured the very last milliseconds of this squirrel's time on this mortal coil.

    Jim - feeding tree rats! How could you! Next you'll be telling be you leave a salt lick out for the white tailed hoofed rats... :p

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jim's really fattening it up for Thursday's dinner...it's really the very rare fuzzy tree turkey...

    WendyB_09

    ReplyDelete

Comments on this blog are moderated. Each will be reviewed before being allowed to post. This may take a while. I don't allow personal attacks, trolling, or obnoxious stupidity. If you post anonymously and hide behind an IP blocker, I'm a lot more likely to consider you a troll. Be sure to read the commenting rules before you start typing. Really.