Uh-oh!

After setting out a buffet for the birds, I waited to see who would arrive first. The chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches began to fly in, and, at the same time, this small squirrel scampered up the tree right next to my shoulder. Backing up a few steps, I turned my lens from the birds to the squirrel and captured this shot and several others.

I thought I was in trouble on my walk this morning. Standing on the trail, in conversation with the man who had given me the information about the best place to buy the peanut chips and sunflower chips, I tossed out a few peanuts to a doe who came walking up to us. Then, a moment too late, I noticed there was a park ranger sitting in his car at the end of the trail. "Uh-oh," I said to my companion, who replied, "He's probably asleep." Unfortunately we discovered that wasn't the case as he got out of his vehicle and walked down the trail toward us. However, the scolding I anticipated didn't actually happen. All he said was that there "is plenty of food around for the deer," as we stood there and watched two does nibbling on scraggly bushes at the side of the trail.

After that encounter, I moved on down the trail and decided not to put out any more peanuts for the birds until I was out of sight of the parking lot.

Squirrel 2
Squirrel 3