Prize pose

I was surprised at how unafraid this squirrel was when I walked outside and saw him eating acorns that had fallen from the oak tree. He stood up and took notice of me but then went back to his banquet. I went inside and grabbed my camera. That didn't even csare him off, so I went closer and sat on a bench. He was almost delirious in his nutty feast, bouncing around the yard like a rabbit.

He kept alert to what I was doing. That lasted about 10 minutes, which, I guess, was all the staying-in-high-alert he could handle and he scampered to the trunk of a nearby tree. About 10 minutes later, he was back digging the acorns out of the grass and chomping down. Suddenly he finds this -- I'm not sure why this is such a treasure. He grabbed it in his mouth and bounced across the yard like a little kid skipping. (I've see him run across the yard before when a dog scares him -- so this was definitely not a run-for-safety scamper). He bounds over into a tree in the neighoring yard and stands there showing his prize off.

I'm surprised he did not the rules. This tree is definitely off limits. A mocking bird comes at him with a vengance, pecking at him as he scurried around the tree trying to get away. Funny thing, she wasn't in this tree. She sets up shop in a tree about 40 feet away -- I guess it was a better watchtower. Eventually the squirrel jumped off the trunk and again bounced across the yard, until the bird gave up -- satisfied he was clear of her nest.

He then scampered up the oak in my yard and off into the aerial highway -- the interstate "limbway" of the neighborhood.