Obsessed with the Squirrels

Can I briefly interrupt this blog for a moment to explain to readers our crazy obsession with the squirrels?

Maybe we're just city-folk who are easily amused by all the critters that we find in the forest. There are so many birds, and chipmunks, and lizards, and crazy loud woodpeckers! Last year we had glimpses of bears in our backyard! On a road trip we might see deer, elk, bald eagles, and once we even spotted wild sheep! But with all the varmints around, I think we may have an unhealthy obsession for squirrels. We take pictures of them and feed them and still, after years in the mountains, we still stop what we are doing to rush over to see them when the come around! Maybe some of our readers from the east coast will think our obsession is crazy, as I've heard folks on the east coast think of these cute squirrels as a nuisance on the same level as pigeons. That's just crazy talk! Squirrels are SO SO cute and adorable, unlike pigeons that are only a step up from cockroaches!

We have squirrel feeders, and in the summer we keep them full of corn and peanuts and sunflower seeds. This year we have a mama squirrel and her two babies that come around daily. At first we thought the babies might be chipmunks, which we also have in abundance. But nope, as they grow, we are convinced that they are just adorable baby squirrels! Recently, one of the babies has become quite ornery and even chases off the bigger squirrels as if our front yard is his sole domain. We've nicknamed him Rocky. (Surely you remember Rocky the flying squirrel?)

The feeder works on a hinge and the weight of the squirrel standing on the platform opens the door for the food. (You should see the poor birds trying to get food out of it, but they just don't weigh enough! Lucky for them we have bird feeders too!) Rocky is quite little still and when he leans in to get food, he has to step forward on the platform, often causing it to close on his head. It's taken him several days to get brave enough to eat from the feeder. Often, I open my front door to see this view of Rocky- his butt facing me as he pigs out.

The mountains are a lovely distraction, and God's creatures seems to come to our door looking for me, as if to say, "Stop thinking about all the mess! Look at me!"