Thursday, April 2, 2009

THE GREAT SQUIRREL ENCOUNTER


















The spruce tree which spans our neighbour's yard and our own is home to this little black squirrel, who has made her nest at the very top of the tree. I watched her while she was making her nest by biting small branches from the deciduous trees and carrying them to her treetop home. She actually dives from the branches of the hardwood tree down into her nest until she disappears.

This is a documentation of the interaction between this little squirrel and her stalker -- my Dante!

The squirrel is very bold, which you see in this series of pictures. She comes very close when she sees me as she knows I am the provider of nuts -- she looks straight into my eyes as if asking me politely to go fetch the food. I complied and these pictures are the result.

At first Dante was ready to chase her, but later on he sat very still and watched her hop to and fro gathering one nut at a time -- then sometimes burying it, and sometimes eating it.

I was amazed at how the distance between the two -- the little black squirrel and my big red kitty -- lessened as time went on. I guess there was a certain amount of trust that had built up, and Dante was satisfied to be a spectator rather than a hunter.

Dante finally says a fond farewell to Squirrely (that's our nickname for her), until the next time they happen to meet -- which could be as soon as tomorrow!

4 comments:

BeeChilly said...

Maybe Squirrely and Dante are negotiating a friendship where Dante doesn't eat Squirrely and Squirrely chews through the leash on the sly.
Hmm, that sounds pretty much like food for squirrels doesn't it?
(like nuts...)
They're both quite handsome creatures.

8GR8LOLCATS said...

I absolutely LOVE this! Your description is fabulous- you are such an EXCELLENT writer! Photos are fantastic... I think you should send this to Cat Fancy Magazine! They would eat this up!

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

That is a very bold squirrel! We don't have black squirrels here!

Kate said...

This is hilarious!! I'm not at all convinced that Dante wants to be "friends" with Squirrely..but it certainly looks like a great game of chase for both of them. Super cute!!