It’s a hot one

With higher than normal temps for spring, it feels more like August than early June. Stepping outside today is like entering a sauna FULLY CLOTHED. Yuck.

“Momma Told Me There’d Be Days Like This” (American Red Squirrel, Juvenile) Nikon D300, 340mm, F/6.7, 1/50s, ISO 640

Now, I like the heat and all but it is just too soon to be in the 90’s. I broke a sweat just doing the morning chores! The air is so hot and thick, it is difficult to even breathe let alone move. And it isn’t just me who is feeling this way. I spotted many yard residents acting very lethargically.

“Just Resting My Eyes” (Adult Female American Red Squirrel) Nikon D300, 650mm (200-400mm F/4G w/1.7x Teleconverter), F/6.7, 1/25s, ISO 640

Can’t say I blame them. The heat is tough enough to take without sporting a fur coat! I felt bad for the furry beasts knowing I could escape back into the AC when it simply got to be too much. Sadly, they do not have any other option but to grin and bear it. Sigh.

“Takin’ It Easy” (American Red Squirrel, Juvenile) Nikon D300, 370mm (200-400mm F/4G w/1.7x Teleconverter), F/6.7, 1/50s, ISO 640

Hang in there, my little critters. Relief is coming! 🙂

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The kids are alright

The baby red squirrels are growing up fast! (At the bottom of this post you’ll find a link to watch video of the babies!)

But first, here’s a quick recap of events so far this week: 

Day 1: I notice a single Baby Red poking its head out of the entrance hole of the birdhouse. 

Day 2: Two Baby Reds play hide ‘n seek with me but do not venture outside of house. 

Day 3: I discover there are three Baby Reds! Watch them play with each other and explore all over birdhouse. 

Which brings us to Day 4: Alpha Baby Red leaves house and begins to explore yard! 🙂

Momma Red was not around at the time and I was obviously anxious to see what would happen when the two met up. I was not disappointed! When Alpha Baby saw Momma, s/he immediately ran up and gave her a great big hug!

Awwwwww. ♥

“Red Reunion” (Adult Female American Red Squirrel with Juvenile) Nikon D300, 460mm, F/6.7, 1/100s, -0.3EV, ISO 2500

Alpha Baby stayed out of the house for the entire day but did return in early evening. 

Here is a tender moment shared between siblings:

“Little Red Kiss” (Juvenile American Red Squirrels) Nikon D300, 380mm, F/6.3, 1/320s, ISO 2000, Silver Efex Pro ‘Antique Plate II’ Filter

Double awwwwww. ♥ ♥ 

Now, for a ‘Feel-Good-Moment-of-the-Day’, clickhere to watch video! 😀

Did I say twins?

“Make ’em Laugh” (Juvenile American Red Squirrels) Nikon D300, 240mm (200-400mm F/4G), F/6.3, 1/320s, ISO 2000

I should have said TRIPLETS! Holy cow! This is becoming the clown car of birdhouses! 😉  

Count ’em – three baby red squirrels!!! (Now I know why Momma Red looks so exhausted!) 🙂  Speaking of Momma, she is never too far away and she trusts that I’m not going to hurt her babies so I’ve been allowed to get really close. 

These three are getting very adventurous so I don’t think the vicinity of the house will contain them for long. I am working on shooting some video and hope to post a short snippet so that you can all see just how adorable they are in action!  

 

“Bookends” (Juvenile American Red Squirrels) Nikon D300, 350mm (VR 200-400mm F/4G), F/6.3, 1/320s, ISO 2000

It’s funny –  like children, they have spurts of tremendous energy, using the house as a veritable jungle gym, sniffing and exploring all around, diving back into the hole at the slightest strange sound, only to pop back out to explore once again. After a period of about 10 minutes, they are worn out and return to the safety of the nest for some needed nap time. 

I never thought I’d ever witness such a wonderful thing and I feel so very blessed to have this opportunity to capture the experience and share it all with you! Enjoy! 😀

Update: I did decide to change the name of the second image from ‘Triplets’ to ‘Bookends’ – just seems to fit, right? 😉

Born under the sign of Gemini

Today is my sister Lori’s birthday – Happy Birthday, Sis!! ♥  

What could be more appropriate for a Gemini then TWIN baby red squirrels!!! Yep, that’s right folks, there are TWO baby reds in the birdhouse! Both are very curious and it was hilarious watching them play hide ‘n seek with me today!  

The first baby is lighter and golden in color, has a pink-ish spot just to the right above the nose (might be hard to see in the image) and the cutest rosy mouth!

“Pucker Up, Baby” (Juvenile American Red Squirrel in Birdhouse) Nikon D300, 1000mm (600mm w/1.7x teleconverter), F/6.7, 1/60s, ISO 640

The second baby is the same as in yesterday’s post (I think). S/he has more red in the fur and is much braver of the two as demonstrated here:

“Braveheart” (Juvenile American Red Squirrel in Birdhouse) Nikon D300, 1000mm (600mm w/1.7x teleconverter), F/6.7, 1/100s, -0.3EV, ISO 640

(Although, this is as far as s/he would venture out before frantically realizing leaving might not be the smartest thing to do). 😉 

So, there ya go, Lori! Let’s see Lon beat that! 😀 

Love you!