Just checking in.
Surgery recovery continues to thoroughly kick my ass but yesterday morning, while I was attempting to organize all the self-addressed stamped envelopes readers have sent me for Amaranth seeds, I looked up from my kitchen table and spotted this in my back yard.
1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
A Red Squirrel munching on an unopened sunflower on my back fence. The way I’m moving these days I knew it would take me forever to retrieve my photo gear from its storage shelf and get it set up for photos, so by then I expected the squirrel to be gone. It wasn’t.
It never turned its head to put full light on its face but the way that googly-eye stands out, with catchlight, partially makes up for it. This squirrel is the first and only living thing I’ve photographed in 19 days so it helped to scratch my itch and I decided to share – in part to let you know I’m still kickin’.
It may be a while before I get Amaranth seeds mailed out and, as expected, I don’t have enough to fill demand. But as promised I’ll fill the requests in the order I received the SASE’s until the seeds are gone, playing no favorites. Apologies to those who won’t receive any.
And for those of you who used the opportunity to include get-well notes, cards or gifts with your SASE – thank you! Your thoughtfulness reminded me how anxious I am to get back to my (our) normal routine.
Ron
Edit: Not a Red Squirrel. This is an Easten Fox Squirrel, a non-native species whose numbers have exploded in Salt Lake City in the last several years. I should have known better but in my addled condition I didn’t.
she looks like she might be a nursing mama?
sweet photo…
and hope things start smoothing out for you soon, Ron!
Squirrels can be incredibly irritating, digging everywhere, eating thru irrigation tubing, burying peanuts in the garden and potted plants, scarfing the sunflower seeds from bird feeders — but dang, they’re entertaining! (And I’m the one that offers peanuts, so who’s to blame? Ha!)
That is a really lovely photo, Ron, and glad you took the opportunity to visit with us today. I’m also very impressed with how clean your windows must be to get that kind of shot through glass! 😉
Chris, it wasn’t taken through the glass. I had time and opportunity to open my patio door and prop my lens on a bar stool before I took the shot.
If I’d taken it through the glass the photo would have been a mess.
Oh, whew! Well, that explains a lot, and somewhat relieves my guilt over my own less-than-stellar window cleaning skills! 😂 I just didn’t think Ms Squirrel would stay in place if she noticed your movements…mine never do! Must have been an especially tasty sunflower!
Beautiful photo!! so impressed that you could take this while recovering from surgery… the light is just gorgeous!! Best Wishes and Thanks to you!
Thank you, Joanne.
I am thrilled that you pulled out your camera and snapped this photo. She is a lovely squirrel and you captured her in a beautiful setting. Your fence is a perfect rustic, weathered gray. The soft bush and distant image are a wonderful backdrop for the beautiful little squirrel. Please keep your camera handy and “scratch your itch” as often as opportunity presents itself! So wonderful to see you kickin’. Soon you will be kicking up your heels in hot pursuit of birds of prey, shore & water birds and the occasional mammal in the field.
Melanie, at this point I can’t imagine kicking up my heals again but if it happens I’ll be delighted.
That heals/heels slip is completely understandable. I hope you do get the first. Quickly and completely.
Geeze, I’m really on a roll today. I wish I could say it was an intentional pun but it wasn’t.
Ha! not a red squirrel, you are the lucky recipient of a non-native eastern fox squirrel! From the looks of her you will have more!
Happy you are up and around to photograph, even if in your own yard!
More healing thoughts sent your way!
I was about to comment on this little female too! I wondered about the species and I am sure you know more about Fox Squirrels than I. I thought she was an Eastern Gray!
Thanks for the correction, April. I’m an ignoramus when it comes to squirrels. I should have known I was on shaky ground.
The first eastern fox squirrel I got in my yard left me so confused to what the hell it was! We were not suppose to have them. I got confirmation from someone at the U someone doing research on their expansion into Utah.
Enjoyed todays photo Ron.
Glad that you posted, and let us all know you are still kicking. 👍😊
Thanks, Michael.
Thank you for the update, and for this gorgeous photo. The colors, textures, light are all so beautiful. This is a visual treat we can revisit until your next post.
I am picturing you at your kitchen table, surrounded by SASEs and little piles of Amaranth seeds, carefully counting them out so everyone gets an equal share, getting antsier by the second, wanting to be in your truck.
We’ve had a flock of cedar waxwings visiting our yard the past few days – I’ve been watching them thru the binocs, trying to visualize them as you might see them. Today’s photo gives me some extra pieces to include. Keep resting!
Carolyn, there’s no counting those tiny seeds – they’re far too small. I estimate that approximately 40 of them could fit inside a single grain of rice. Maybe more. Divvying them up is going to be a chore.
Thank you muchly for checking in. I have been thinking of you lots. And lots. And huge thanks to the slow moving squirrel too. I like that it was so considerate about your current speed.
EC, for about 10 minutes the only thing I could see the squirrel move at all was its mouth. It was really intent on its meal.
I know people like that – and would rather watch the squirrel.
😁
Continued wishes for healing and feeling better Ron. You brighten my days! As do the kaleidoscope of leaves in the forrest surrounding our home.
Mary, our mountain leaves have their best color right now and I’m missing them!
What nice light! Lovely photo.
Thank you, Ellen.
I’m happy to see you betting a chance to shoot this or any other subject now. It might be a small step, but every journey begins that way and it is in the right direction.
You might consider leaving your gear set up somewhere near thew window for future opportunities – it is faster to react and can help avoid some of that BLT movement. I now keep my 200-500 attached to a tripod, and a 300/4 mounted on a second tripod for quick access. And it probably took less than a year for my wife to stop complaining about it.
“And it probably took less than a year for my wife to stop complaining about it.”
That brought my first smile of the day, Rich and I’ve been up for many hours. Thanks for that.
Happy you checked in😊
We have SO many squirrels… sometimes it’s awww look what they’re doing and other times it’s me chasing them off 😆 As I write this it sounds like they’re having a dance party on my roof❗️
Sounds like fun, Diana!
Morning Ron! Thank you for letting us know you’re still kickin’! The squirrel shot is very cute! Have been fighting with a grey squirrel who is trying to use the underside of my deck firepit as his personal winter storage chest. Cheeky little guy! Runs around my deck (which is 15′ off the ground) like he owns the joint. Hang in there! Recovery requires patience 🙂
Ha, with squirrels “cheeky” comes with the territory Kathleen.
It’s a beauty. So good to hear from you.
Thanks, Nina.
Fun and beautiful photo, Ron! 🙂 Glad he waiting for you to come back with proper equipment in tow! 😉 Cheap entertainment even if they can be problematic a times….. 😉
Yeh, this surgery wasn’t meant to be a walk in the park – just hoping it gets the job done for you…… REALLY tough for anyone as active as you are to “veg” more or less for any length of time. Hang in there!
Judy, at this point I’ll take any entertainment I can get.
I love the squirrel in the sun! I’m too late for seeds. 🙂 it’s been a month this week!
Thanks, Arwen.
Good to see your post this morning Ron. Must be a tough journey recovering from such a serious surgery. Great photo. You should just leave your equipment set up to catch whatever shows up out back there. Have never seen a Red Squirrel here in Prescott. We have Rock Squirrels everywhere and in our forests we have lots of Abert Squirrels.
Best wishes for a full recovery.
Everett, I love the look of Abert’s Squirrels. Those ears!
I’m so happy to see that you’re “on your feet”, however briefly….From the
snazzy condition of that squirrel’s coat, one can see that she’s very happy that you- and your yard– are her neighbors! Here’s hoping that each morning-and
day– will be a little ( or a lot ! ) easier for you…….
Thank you, Kris. Being on my literal feet is often the most comfortable position I can get in. At least for a while.
In all the years that I followed your wonderful blog, this is one of my favorite photos of yours! Exquisite… Any of us could only hope to have such a beautiful portrait taken of us. Just goes to show that no matter how your body is screaming at you right now, your spirit is shining through, loud and strong.
Much appreciated, Alison. The shine in my spirit continues to take direct hits but hopefully there’ll be some semipermanent luster there soon
Wishing you continued semi-permanent luster along with your ongoing wry sense of humor… Definitely a workable stand-in for shine in times of travail!
Good to hear from you. And good to know you remember how to use your camera to good effect😁
The subject of your photo reminds me of one in my yard–looks like there might be some young’uns around.
Lyle, earlier this summer there were quite a few young’uns hanging out sporadically in my back yard. I’ve seen more squirrels this past summer than ever before.
Oh, and never seen a suflower. Is that endemic to Utah?🤔😁
I guess my butt is kicked worse than I thought. I still haven’t spotted where I spelled it “suflower”. Maybe I’ll take a nap and try again later… 🙂
The misspell is in your tags 🙂 – Lyle is very thorough in reading your blog!
Thanks for letting me know, Kathleen. Fixed.