Critters, Fiction

Acrobats and Playmates

HEY! You wanna see a trick?  APM01

TAAA DAAA!!!

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What? You’re not impressed?

Well, then Watch This.

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Thanks. I thought you would like it.

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Yes. It is fun around here. So much to do.

If ever you are bored, just call your buddy.

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He will come down to play every time.

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Then you can square off

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and go chasing each other all around the yard.

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Yes, indeed. It is FUN.

I must confess, though.  What we do more than anything is sniff for food.

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It’s usually pretty easy, but it gets a little tricky in the snow.

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Of course, you can always go for the cool silver tray bird feeder,

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unless it’s occupied.

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In which case I just like to relax and watch the action

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until I’m ready to join the fun.

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Chasing after my buddy

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or flying off through the woods alone.

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I love it.

What?

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You would like to see another trick?

Certainly.

Hmmmm. Let’s see….

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I know.

TAAA DAAA!!!

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Good Bye. Thanks for stopping by.

117 thoughts on “Acrobats and Playmates”

  1. They are so lovely dear Jim, this is great show. Thank you for sharing with us, yes, I am crazy with cats but then with squirrels… I can imagine what a great fun to watch them, even it was a great fun for me too at my desk watching all these photographs. Love, nia

    1. Oh yes, it is fun to watch them. Fun fun fun. Ten tons of fun. Thank you so much for your generous comment. 🙂

    1. Thanks Aditix. I’m glad you like it. We have only had a brief spell of real winter this year, but the squirrels sure performed in the snow. I hope you are having a good, cold Scandinavian winter. 🙂

    1. Better than a box of chocolates? Are you sure? OK then, THANKS. Those crazy critters do brighten up a winter’s day. 🙂

    1. Grower, you are cracking me up. Tree Rats !?! C’mon now. It’s not just me – they are rather cute you know. I’m not sure about cuddly, but they are cute. 🙂

  7. good morning jim! nice to see your garden again 🙂 and the squirrels, ours stick to the woods . . . ..when they come out into the open they get carried away by hawks!! it’s quiet a sight and never a camera around to capture the image . . . .have a wonder-full day!

    1. Hi Creekrose. Thanks. I love having wonder-full days. If I were one of your squirrels, I would stick to the woods too. We have hawks around here but I have never seen them go after a squirrel. Yikes. I wonder if our squirrels realize how good they have it. Yeah, I bet they do. 🙂

    1. Thanks Gabrielle. It is my pleasure to make you laugh. These little dudes are definitely funny and sure make me laugh. My goal was to share some of the fun. Sounds like it worked. Great. Cheers. 🙂

    1. Thanks. Great subjects make for great pics and the rowdy little dudes help tell a fun story. Have a great day. 🙂

    1. Thanks. My little acrobat friends would be thrilled to hear you think so. They perform so ambitiously, it looks like they are trying to blow everyone’s mind. 🙂

    1. Oh, you are welcome, Amy. I hope you are having a fine winter. As you may detect, we are doing great here, watching the acrobats and playmates live life to the fullest. 🙂

    1. Thanks Christiane. Yes, the red bird contrasts with the snow nicely. You will also note, I’m sure, that he contrasts with the rest of the post, though if you look closely you will see that the bird picture is framed very similarly to the adjoining picture and captured under the same conditions and lighting. Contrast amidst similarity, or something like that. 🙂

    1. Hi Fallcorn. With the same thing going on in your garden, you must surely be a well entertained man, as am I. Have a great day. Thanks for checking in. 🙂

    1. Hi Julie. This particular photo shoot started out with my son calling to me, “Pops, you have a squirrel problem.” There were ten squirrels all over the joint, hogging the bird feeders and sniffing up the ground. They had been hunkered in their nests through two days of cold weather and had come out en masse to play in the snow and eat to their heart’s content. I present the story as two squirrels, but it is really 8 or 10. They all look the same. And yes, they are so funny.

    1. Mes voyoux drôles. Ils sont amusants et mignons, mais ils ont toujours faim. Ils mangent la nourriture des oiseaux comme c’est leur propre. Les petits diables adorables. 🙂

    1. Hi Cynthia. I see the term “squirrel proof” on bird feeders nowadays and think “Right!” Squirrel proof? These folks need to spend a week in my garden and then talk about squirrel proof. Actually, I had one of those feeders, but found it to be more bird proof than squirrel proof. So, as you can see, I just put out the food and watch the show. It is always a great show, be it squirrels, birds or deer. Thanks for checking in. Have a great day.

    1. Indeed. Filling cheeks is one of these guys’ specialties. They are tending a little chubby, but as you can see, they take their cardio seriously. 🙂

  21. who knew you could have so much fun and get so much energy from a bit of bird seed…

    1. In the greater scheme of things, I have discovered that 20 dollars worth of bird seed can provide infinitely more entertainment than 20 dollars spent at the movies. Especially if you present the bird seed as a challenge to the bright and determined squirrel crowd. 🙂

    1. Oh yes, I can picture them now, flying from branch to branch, reveling in each others’ company. Boy howdy, the squirrels are energetic. And talented. Have a great day Barbara. 🙂

    1. Thanks. This was a fun post to put together. A fun photo shoot, too. Most of the pictures were taken within the same hour, as the squirrels came out to play after a couple days hunkering down against inclement weather. Cheers. 🙂

    1. Thanks. Mischievous critters they are. Fun and fearless too. And they seem to like each other, which is nice to watch. 🙂

    1. Thanks Alice. Smiling and laughing… Goal Accomplished! I was hoping you would catch this post, as I thought you would appreciate the finer qualities of this crazy crowd. So far so good this winter. Not much snow, but enough to catch some good pictures of birds and squirrels. Have a great day. 🙂

  26. Pingback: Serenity | The World Is a Book...

    1. Thanks. These cute critters are FULL of personality and I was just trying to capture some of that. So thanks for noticing. Have a wonderful day. 🙂

    1. Hi Julie. Thanks so much. They are indeed fun to watch and yes, they consume some bird seed, but overall they earn their way as entertainers. As I noted above, I have concluded that, try as I might, I can’t keep them out of the bird feeders, so I might as well get a kick out of their antics. It is my pleasure to share the fun. 🙂

  29. I love your photos and the way you can connect them through storytelling. I’ll bet you can tell some great stories…. With just the smallest nudge as a start!

    1. Thank you. I’m glad you like the story lines. Making up stories and verses about the inhabitants of our gardens is great fun for me. As for me being a storyteller, I can just see my friends and family roll their eyes at your comment. They might all be glad that I have the blog as an outlet. 🙂 Have a great day. 🙂

  30. Hi Jim! I came over from Amy’s link to you and had to pop over as I adore squirrels. Your photos of these mischievous squirrels playing in the snow are breathtakingly beautiful and so much fun 😀 I love this post, thank you so much for bring a huge smile to my heart today 🙂 ~ Sherri

    1. Hi Sherri. You are most welcome. Thank You! The squirrels are a ton of fun to watch and they do express quite a lot of joy as they play with each other, chasing about the yard. It is my pleasure to share the fun and joy. I’m glad you liked it and so glad to make you smile. Thanks again. Have a great day. 🙂

      1. Thanks Jim…and again, you really did make me smile, more than you know 🙂 In fact, I hope it’s okay if I re-blog your post? My readers will love it 🙂

    1. Thanks. My furry friends are always up to some kind of antics and it was fun putting together the little picture narrative. Of course, those furry friends are very expressive, so they make the telling their story easy. 🙂

    1. Hi Margaret. Thanks. It was a fun post to photograph and to construct. Yep, the squirrels are quite the enterprising creatures. They can’t really eat from the hanging bird feeder so they hold onto it, flip off of it and cause a bunch of seeds to shake to the ground, where they proceed to dine at their leisure. 🙂

    1. Hi Kim. Great! I’m glad you found it and oh so glad you like it. Starting the day with laughter is a wonderful thing. Have a wonderful day. I really hope you laugh more today. 🙂

    1. Hi Annabel. Thank you! Yes, they do seem to have a lot of fun. They are quite the sociable bunch, chasing each other around and always shaking their tails and chattering to each other when they detect danger. No lions or tigers here, but By Golly! We have a furry little festival on a daily basis. Have a wonderful day. 🙂

    1. Thanks Christy. Yes, they had some hustle on that day. They had spent the previous couple days hunkered in their nests, weathering the cold and snow. Once the weather turned bright and fair they were out, eating, playing, chasing and having a ball. 🙂

    1. Wow Sherri. You have some nice followers and quite a lot of them too. Thanks for sending them my way. Lots of new faces and kindly commentary at Jim’s Garden the last couple days. It has been fun. Thanks! 🙂

      1. Popped over from Sherri’s blog. 🙂

        This is made of awesome. The photos are gorgeous (and adorable!), the captions are perfect. Someone already mentioned this, but I think your post would make a brilliant picture book.

        1. Thank you very much Sarah. “Made of awesome.” Now THAT is a nice compliment. I’ve thought about a picture book for this and a few other posts. Perhaps I’ll get to work on that. 🙂 Have a wonderful day. 🙂

      2. You are welcome Jim! Your squirrel photos were a hit as I knew they would be! Glad you got to meet so many of my lovely friends, they are the best 🙂

  37. Jim came over after seeing this post on Sherri’s site. All I can say is wow! I love your captures, beautiful images that had me smiling. We don’t get squirrels in Australia and so this post was most enjoyable thank you.

    1. Thanks. I love when a post makes people smile. The squirrels are rather cute, aren’t they? No squirrels in Australia? Shucks. If this gang heard there is a living to be made in Australia, they would find a way to get there, enterprising as they are. Thanks for your nice comment. 🙂

  38. Sherri – if Jim could let me know how to stop squirrels from stealing all the bird food I’d be grateful. We spend an inordinate amount of time shooing the little blighters out of our garden 🙂

    1. Now Jenny, does my post give you the impression that I have figured out how to keep squirrels out of the bird feeders? Quite the opposite. I have come to the hard earned conclusion that no matter what I do, the squirrels will find a way to eat the bird seed. Clearly they are smarter than me in that regard, so I just watch and laugh. Have a great day. Thanks for you comment. 🙂

    1. They do seem to be having fun, don’t they? They were having a particularly wonderful time that fine, fair, snowy day. So much fun to watch and the pictures actually did them justice. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

    1. Hi Jennifer. I have heard from Julie at Frog Pond Farm (Julie’s Garden Blog) that squirrels are nowhere to be seen in New Zealand. Too Bad, being as cute as they are. I checked out your white squirrel. Very cool. Very white. On the college campus near our home there is a population of brown squirrels with grayish/white tails. They are odd looking critter, to be sure. Apparently they have not yet interbred with the squirrels in our woods, as we seem to stick with the normal brown and tan look. Have a great day. Thanks for checking in. 🙂

    1. Thanks. I’m with you on all counts. I love watching them play and I thought this batch of pictures actually caught the sense of their joyous mischievousness. I’m glad you liked them. It is my pleasure to share. 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Julia. I love squirrels too and was glad to catch them showing off their fun and adventurous selves. Quite the bunch of characters. Have a fabulous day. Stay warm. 🙂

  45. What great little friends you’ve got, Jim. They give hours of entertainment …. lovely little chaps.

    1. Lovely little chaps, indeed. Mostly. Some folks consider them annoying and they do have a tendency to behave in such a fashion as to encourage that. But I think they are cute and resourceful and yes, they provide a great deal of entertainment. The birds just wish they would stay away from the feeders, but that is not going to happen. 🙂

    1. Thanks. It was fun to photograph and just as much fun to put together. I’m so glad you like it. As our little friend the squirrel says, “Thanks for stopping by.” 🙂

  48. Hi Jim:
    This is great fun – all these action photos of athletic feats and tricks. I hope you and Firefox lady are doing well in this cold winter. The new greeting in Toronto is “Stay warm!”
    I miss your regular posts. make sure you reblog a few of your garden to help cheer up us winter-weary souls, okay?

    1. Hi Cynthia. We are doing well this winter. Thanks so much for checking. Yep, I bet that is your current greeting, being so far north. We were enjoying a relatively mild winter until early February, then kaawham! Cold! Really cold!
      Thanks for your encouragement on the blog. Your generous nature very much comes through in your posts and comments. The truth is I have rather put Jim’s Garden on ice. Given the weather that is perhaps not so unrealistic. But honestly, I have found blogging to be an interactive sport. I read your posts, you read mine. At this particular time, though, I find myself wrapped up in a research project which has little to do with flowers, birds or squirrels and I genuinely lack the available time to keep up with the blog posts of my WordPress community. Not being able to read their material, it doesn’t seem fair to blast my dubious wit about the internet and expect them to read mine. So I’m just hanging back and staying cool. Or, as you say, just trying to stay warm. Cheers. Have a wonderful day. Thanks again for checking in. 🙂

      1. Great to hear from you, Jim. At least I know that you’re doing well. And on a research project. I hope it challenges your formidable brain just enough to get your mind off the brutal winter (and lack of flowers).
        Now I understand why you’ve put the blog “on ice”. all our gardens are on ice right now (except for the lucky Kiwis, Brits & other Europeans, and my friends in Vancouver. I’ll be looking out for your posts come the spring. Stay warm!

  50. I was so tired of the snow and I am so glad it’s gone, but this just made my day! Beautifully captured God’s creatures enjoying each others company and playing a mid a cold, snowy day. People should have more joy like this! Just melts your heart… 🙂

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