Squirrel!

I don't think anyone would be surprised to hear that we have Gray Squirrels running around in our yard pretty much all the time. I guess they're one of those "normal" animals that are easy to overlook, because they're so common. But lately I've been noticing that they're actually quite interesting little creatures, and more than a little cute.

This morning, one of our resident Gray Squirrels was sitting way up high in the maple tree in our backyard, making a meal out of the buds on these branches (buds that look just about ready to burst open, I might add). This squirrel was really scarfing them down, and Paul and I were having fun observing the proceedings through the binoculars.

Incidentally, this particular squirrel has definitely had some close encounters in its time -- it's missing half of its squirrelly tail, and I noticed some spots of bare fur as well. I'm guessing this squirrel narrowly escaped some sort of life-threatening situation (almost becoming someone's dinner, maybe?), but it's survived to climb and eat, and it seems to do just as well as the other squirrels.

Mmm, maple buds. :)

 

NOM!

(Also, I feel like this squirrel should have a name. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm vetoing "Stumpy.")