Here Come the Critters

I still have some photos that I took with my old camera that I’ve been wanting to share; one of those blog posts that had been stacking up in my head over the last few weeks.  Before the fervor of the new camera took over, I’d been wanting to share some shots of a few “wild friends” that I’d taken recently.

First, I like to think that the adult rabbits I see hanging around the yard eating the dandelions might be one of our baby bunnies from the spring.  This rabbit and I did a little “dance” around the yard as I tried to quietly approach and get a shot of the face, but I always ended up with a shot in profile.

Next up, Tracy and I were having a conversation about whether this was a red squirrel or not.  She thought maybe it was a juvenile gray.  I watched for it for several days, and eventually became convinced it was a red, but wasn’t able to get a picture.  Finally, one morning I got this one:

and this one:

The sun was behind the squirrel, and I was pleased with the way it lit up the tail.

I told the story in this post about the pictures of a male cardinal that I have been missing.  I still haven’t gotten a nice close-up, but not for lack of trying and missed opportunities.  On the morning that I took this cropped shot…

… the cardinal had been sitting on my shepard’s hook that holds several hanging baskets of flowers in my backyard.  I had my camera with me outside, but by the time I had it on it flew up to this near-by tree, singing sweetly the whole time.

Another recent visitor to the yard was this one:

I think this chipmunk popped up to the deck perhaps in search of some of the peanut butter crackers I’d been leaving out there in hopes of luring the red squirrel back for a closer shot.  Not wanting to squeak open the sliding glass door and scare it away, I took this through dog-nose smeared glass.  I should really think about getting the Windex out!

This last shot I am sharing because it is an unusual scene for the middle of suburbia.  It was taken during a walk with Teddy and Daphne, so I didn’t really have the chance to nicely compose, but it came out okay for having 130 pounds worth of dog waiting on the leash.

Goats.  Yep, goats.  I remember the first time my girls told me there were goats living at a house on the street around the corner, I didn’t quite believe them.  Why would you have goats?  Maybe they like goats’ milk cheese, I really don’t know.  But here they are.  Teddy and Daphne were pretty sure they were some sort of unusual dog breed.

I think I still have a few pictures from the Olympus waiting for their chance to be featured.  Most likely they are flower shots, perhaps of some blooms that have gone by, so they will get their chance before the Rebel completely takes over the show.