Dan Antion

One-Liner Wednesday – Anybody Home?

As the days are getting cooler, the squirrels around here are more focused than ever on gathering nuts for their winter stash. Gathering involves foraging around the yard for acorns that have fallen from two oak trees in neighbors’ yards, picking through the Maple seeds and digging into pine cones. Gathering also means hitting the editor up for a donation. Some of the squirrels dance around the yard when she tosses some stuff out to them. Others, like the one we’ve named Sammy, are a little bolder.

Sammy

“Excuse me, would you care to contribute to my feed-a-squirrel campaign?”

That photo was snapped as Maddie and I were leaving for our walk on Saturday. My wife was waiting for us to get out of sight, as she didn’t know what Maddie would do if she saw the front door open. The other photos in the gallery are from points during our walk and while sitting in the back yard.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. You can follow this link to see the one-liners from the other participants.

Maddie’s park. She brings me here on our walks.
Maddie’s park. She brings me here on our walks.
These guys are feeding in our back yard. Maddie was content to watch them.
This little guy doesn’t know that Maddie won’t hurt him and I’m carrying peanuts.
Sammy, after he got his contribution.
I like the shadow line formed by the fence.
We see the black squirrels in Maddie’s park. They don’t come very close, but close enough to get a peanut.
Only one bird today
Entrance to Maddie’s park
It’s been dry
That was going to be a close-up of a leaf.
A little moisture on some autumn leaves
“Do you have peanuts?”

73 comments

  2. It would be awesome to get a shot of the Editor feeding that little beggar a peanut. I know they appreciate the nuts. The squirrels were very scarce in the park where I took those last photos. We also noticed most of the heavy shrubbery around the lake was cut down, likely trimming after the hurricane, and where there had been dozens of squirrels and turtles before there were now merely a handful. I love your photos Dan. Maddie looks happy as always.

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    • Thanks Cheryl. I think if the editor had popped out, Maddie would have gone bonkers. Sammy wasn’t moving until he got some attention.

      One of the trees they live in is a dogwood of ours, and we just noticed that a huge portion of it is rotted and has to come down. I’m going to feel horrible if they’re next is in that section :(

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  3. Thank heavens you thought ahead to move close to a park for Maddie’s walks. :-) Your furry friends would lust for the crop of acorns here. There are really huge oaks here. It looks like a smorgasbord out there. Of course, I look at the buffet and think about all the new seedlings I’ll have to pull next spring. :-(

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    • There’s a pair of parks, across the street from each other, about four blocks away. One is known (ti us) as Mitzi’s Park, after our first dog who loved to explore there. Someone once hit a foul ball toward us. Mitzi grabbed it and refused to give it up.

      Our oaks have had a lighter-than-normal crop of acorns. Even in the park, where the path is usually covered in nuts, the pickings are kind of slim.

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  4. Sammy certainly knows what side of the porch his bread is buttered on…and who gives out yummy nuts. Smart little guy, he’s living the good life with the very good humans. Give Maddie an extra pat today and Happy Wednesday, Dan!

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    • Sammy has this all figured out. He knows what doors to beg at and when the odds are good that he’ll be successful. He comes right up to us. Sometimes, when we’re with Maddie, we have to scare him away (a bit) to get a safe distance between him and her.

      Maddie got a little extra snuggle today. We had almost five inches of rain last night, and she’s not a storm-puppy. I think she’ll be tucked away in the corner of a couch for a long time.

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  9. Squirrels are insatiable in their quest for food. When the girls were small, we had a bird feeder and I was continually fighting to keep the squirrels out of it. A baffle finally proved to be the only way and they’d keep checking periodically to see whether something had changed and they could now get around it. Some people said that solution was to put out food for the squirrels as well, but I knew that just meant they’d have two places to eat. :-)

    janet

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  10. Hi Dan – all the critters are dashing around ‘gathering nuts in October!!’ … but squirrels are the investigators of the guzzle world … bet Maddie enjoyed her walk – cheers Hilary

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  11. We don’t have as many squirrels as we did when we moved here. We’ve got three regulars, and only one is brave like Sammy. We haven’t named him, but we believe he’s Chubby Squirrel’s baby, and that’s what we call him. Adorable lil beggar :) Just another thing to love about fall, all these busy squirrels.

    Totally relate to “I was gonna photograph that leaf” photo. I have gobs of accidental snoot pics myself, Hah!

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    • Ha ha – Maddie seems to know just when to stick her nose into the frame. It’s like “he’s looking at that leaf. I should sniff that…” We had to give Sammy a name, because he started showing up fairly often

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  13. There are a half dozen or so oak trees outside the public library in my town, and when they started dropping their acorns a few weeks ago, I stopped to fill my pockets. Last year I picked up a few and brought them back for my squirrel, who had never seen or smelled an acorn before (too dry for oaks out here in the sandy ground), and I wasn’t sure she would know what to do with it. But one sniff and GONE. So this year I was waiting for them, and brought her a few pocketfuls as a treat. It made me happy to see her get so excited about them!

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    • Another softy :-)

      I’m glad you took your squirrel a treat. They are fun to watch. If the nuts are whole, they tend to stash them away. If they’re cracked open, they eat them. Sometimes, we crack one, just to watch them enjoy eating it.

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  18. I love the action shot of the squirrel running towards you … and Maddie *assisting* with the leaf closeup :)

    All the birds and squirrels are very active. This long autumn is giving them more time to prep for winter. I hope they’re using it well – it could be a brutal one.

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  21. It is uplifting to see these pics, Dan. The squirrel, the birds, the park. I’m glad you had some nuts for the squirrel. My heart is heavy; I have never been more scared and sorrowful. But I’m glad you posted these pics. I tried feeding a flock of birds early this year but they took off and I felt terrible that I had disturbed them instead. Sometimes I feed my landlord’s dogs. It makes me happy. They are so grateful. When they’re see me they jump on me and put their front legs on me. Is there any animal or human more grateful than a dog? Yet we call people dogs when we despise them. I don’t understand. Thanks, Dan.

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    • Thank you Peter. I worry about you. When people say that “those people are acting like animals” my wife says they are insulting animals. Dogs are just the best. When a dog is happy to see you, it feels so good because it’s genuine. People are rarely that genuine. Take care my friend.

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  26. The squirrels here seems to be really busy gathering, and it may just be me eyes playing tricks on me…it is October after all, but their tails seem bushier, and their coats fuller. I think that’s a precursor for a long cold winter.

    Sammy is one clever squirrel!

    I was trying to make a picture of a nice looking leaf last evening while on a walk with Diva Dog, and guess who photo bombed the pic? Diva Dog! I’ll try again this evening. :)

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    • The squirrels around here seem to be gearing up for a hard winter. I hope they’re wrong, but we always try to be prepared.

      It’s amazing how Maddie knows just when to stick her nose in. She did this several times. The worst was a group of wet leaves that were arranged in a little pile with one reflecting the strong sun. Not only did she stick her nose in, she stepped on the pile.

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  27. Ha, Dan — Sammy is such a cutie! I can see why everyone there is a soft touch whenever he shows up. I love watching the squirrels scampering around in the park near my office. I don’t often have food for them, but I always share when I do. There was a remarkable white squirrel a couple of years back (most of our squirrels are grey, of course), and he attracted all kinds of attention. He must have had his picture taken a hundred times! Hope Sammy (and you guys) have a great winter.

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  28. I love the patient squirrel waiting like a trick or treaters at the door! Hey, this is a double purpose post (Doors, too. . . 😀)
    One of my favorite pictures is the line of trees and white posts at the entrance to Maddie’s park, Dan. 🍁🍂

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  29. LOVE that fountain shot with the light flare — GREAT shot! I also dig that crazy fence shadow. Before I read the caption, I was like, “What IS that? Did the Earth survive an attack by He Who Must Not Be Named or what?” Put me down for membership in the Sammy fan club. :D

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    • Thanks! I was staring at that shadow line for a bit before I realized what was casting it. Sammy is quite the little beggar. He will actually come up and “knock” on the door. He is one of two squirrels whose mother was hit by a car in front of our house. My wife found them near their mom and, after a good cry, started feeding them. We’ll feed him all winter if necessary.

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