Squirrel

 

Squirrel zoomed in from my kitchen window yesterday. I suppose he was looking for something edible among the brown leaves. (Whether he found anything, I can't say!)

The coat of the red squirrel varies in colour with time of year and location. It sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear-tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November. /Wikipedia/ 

Looks to me like this one has put on its winter coat!

Squirrel Nutkin

Every now and then, on my walks around the old cemetery, I come across Squirrel Nutkin. (There's probably more than one; but not able to tell them apart, I call them all that! - after the story by Beatrix Potter.) Usually, they disappear out of sight before I have a chance to get the camera out. Yesterday, I was lucky, though -  I caught sight of him from a distance, stopped, managed to get the camera out silently and discreetly, zoomed in... And got a whole series of shots before he disappeared too high up the tree for me to follow. So pretty;  and in shiny new winter fur coat, I think! :-) 

 

Some more photos from the same walk. Autumn in progress..

Squirrel

 

Met this little guy today on my daily walk around the old cemetery. I see squirrels there quite often but usually they don't stay around long enough for me to get the camera or phone out to take a photo. This one kept staring back at me for a while though! The squirrels we have here are the red European ones. 

Squirrel Nutkin

Seeing a squirrel probably does not count as a sign of spring, but I don't think I've seen any during the winter, so it made me happy to notice one again yesterday (in the old cemetery where I often walk, and which is also where I usually - sometimes - come across squirrels). I think he's still in his winter fur, with the large ear-tufts. (I'm still in winter coat and hat myself!)

"The red squirrel sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear-tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November." [Wikipedia]

Searching my own blog for previous squirrel posts, I find that I seem to have named all of them "Squirrel Nutkin" (after Beatrice Potter's story, first published in 1903). Ah, well. Might as well stick with the tradition! ;)

Squirrel Nutkin

A phrase I read the other day stuck in my mind: 

"If you think of every day as an adventure, life gets a lot more interesting."

After a very long summer of "staycation", and going no further than my own two legs will take me, I confess it's a bit of a challenge to keep up that attitude. But I still find the camera a helpful tool!

Yesterday was another hot day, and as I did not get out until noon, I decided that a turn around the old cemetery, seeking shadow under the big old trees, would once again have to be far enough. Not much of an adventure, perhaps - but I brought the camera anyway, and was rewarded for doing so. The adventure of the day turned out to be playing hide and seek with a squirrel (with me as paparazzi).

Look at me! I can climb a BIG tree...

 
And I'm quite an acrobat, aren't I?

And I can run very fast! (Bet you can't catch me, I'll just be a blurr...)

Ha! What did I just tell you?!

Phew. It's hot... I need to rest for a while. (Is that paparazzi still following me??)

Here we go again. Hmm, I think I need to find a snack of some kind...

Yum!!
 

 Still keeping an eye on YOU, though... Even if you're standing way over there...

Now which way shall I choose??

 
Okay... I'll pose for you nicely one last time. But then I'm off, and you won't be able to follow this time! (he said, and then set off at full racer speed, escaped through a fence, and disappeared out of sight)

 

A teaser like that, I think he must be related to Squirrel Nutkin.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter (Project Gutenberg)

Squirrel Nutkin

Walking across the old cemetery recently, I spotted a red squirrel. Of course it wouldn’t stop and pose for me on the ground, but I managed to catch sight of it up in a tree, and zoomed in a few shots more or less randomly. Especially one of them came out much better than I was able to see with my bare eye from the ground. So I have to give credit to the ‘new’ camera that I bought back in May (with 30x optical zoom). My old camera could not have done it! (The collage below is from the original photos. The one above made from cropped/enlarged images. I forgot to also take a photo of the whole tree for comparison, because I had to keep my focus on the squirrel, so as not to lose sight of it… It’s a very high tree!)

The name “Squirrel Nutkin” is borrowed from Beatrix Potter, of course. Her story, illustrations included, can be found online here: “This is a Tale about a tail…” I just read it, and have to confess I found it hard to make head or tail of it. It’s really quite nutty!!!  ; )

Peekaboo

Just popping in to say a quick hello & goodnight…
Wishing you all an enjoyable Sunday!