sqwabb

I watched this squirrel scoot up the utility pole and stop on the lines to have a bite.



Before I could say "secret rendezvous," dessert appeared in the form of a second squirrel -- shameless little rodents! They'll get up to most anything in plain sight, just like, I dunno... raccoons, or something.



After a bit of canoodling, the two squirrels went their separate ways. The first one went back down to ground level the same way it had gone up. Back to work maybe?

Squirrels seem to live by the motto: "out of line-of-sight, out of mind." Maybe they believe they can't be seen by whatever they don't look at? But this squirrel gave me a look that told me it knew it was busted. Click the images to enlarge them.

Another squirrel? Didn't we do one of those already? Yes, but this one's different. It's squirrel-y in a different way. This one was more-or-less staying put on it's perch, though it turned through the compass -- stopping at each point to make a bit of clicky noise, but not yelling like the obviously wired squirrel. Is it possible there are Moslem squrrels who need to called to prayer? Probably not. Click the images to enlarge them.

I heard a strange, new, sound today, I was in a back alley, collecting my bottle- and can-shaped nuts and berries, on my way eastward to cash in at a bottle depot. The sound stopped me in my tracks. Kind of a click, click, click -- screech! I thought it was a bird, but it wasn't. It was a squirrel on an overhead transmission wire. Both an unusual sight, and sound. I stalked the squirrel with my new Nikon camera, and considered what might be up with this little shrieking rodent.

Most Summers I see squirrels all over Fairview, and Kitsilano. This is the first squirrel I've seen in two months. They're normally so skittish, but this one, after a momentary freeze, really settled down to eating. We were alone in the lane, but not for long.

First one woman crossed in front of the camera,and told me, "She is coming everyday now," referring to the squirrel. How'd she know it was a  girl squirrel I wondered. Did she turn the squirrel over and check? I snap a few more pictures before ... 'Are you shooting a video?" a man asked. "No, it's just photos," I explained. "Is there a problem?" "No ..." the man said, clearly meaning yes. "Just, I want to put this in the bin ..." He crossed in front of me and dropped a piece of cardboard in the Paper recycling bin. That was too close to the squirrel's personal space, and -- she -- darted away from the food. "Oh," said the man, "a squirrel."

One of my goals is to get footage of a Fairview squirrel running up a stucco wall -- has to be seen to be believed!

Helpful tips for stop-motion photography of small animals:

● Use a tripod
● Glue their little feet to the ground