Squirrels, Squirrels, Squirrels!

 

To be perfectly honest with you – I just looooove squirrels! 🙂

Near to where I´m living is a huge park where I can watch these sweet little climbing artists running up and down the trees, trying to catch one another.

As I´m sure you know, now´s the time that squirrels are really busy collecting enough nuts and seeds that will help them getting through the winter. Actually they already started doing this around here since late September but now they are quite desperate before the first plummet of temperatures below the freezing point.

This is why I never leave the house without a couple of walnuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds in my pockets whenever I go to the park 😉

I´ve done this for quite a long time now (a couple of years), and am happy to tell you that over the years I´ve made friends with some of the squirrels that are now trusting enough to come and take the nuts right from my hand.

 

 

I´m sure you can imagine how exciting it was, the first time it happened!

And because it felt so special, I didn´t even dare to take my camera with me, out of fear they would not like being scrutinely watched over by that big black lense…

But with time, I couldn´t resist the temptation, and to my astonishment found that the squirrels didn´t mind being photographed as long as I kept providing them with delicious walnuts (their absolute favourites 😉 ).

 

“Quick! Before she changes her mind!”

 

This summer I was even allowed to gently stroke for a short time one of the nursing mother-Squirrels as it was feasting on the heavenly walnuts! That was a very, very special moment for me!

The fur was just as soft as I always imagined it to be and I could feel the tiny heart inside beating rapidly, but the squirrel remained quite calm and seated.

There´s no picture of that occassion I´m afraid, since I really was to busy absorbing the moment 😉 But I hope the pictures I´m sharing with you here, give you a hint of the lovely friendship I´ve developed with these animals.

 

Sniffing

 

Taking

 

A rare visitor, quickly picking one of the peanuts I left for the squirrels…

 

 

Let me close this post with one of my favourite poems by W.B. Yeats:

 

To a Squirrel at Kyle-na-no

 

Come play with me;

Why should you run

Through the shaking tree

As though I´d a gun

To strike you dead?

When all I would do

Is to scratch your head

And let you go.

 

Wish you all a very beautiful weekend!