Sunday, November 15, 2009

How I Met Flynn


Today it's time for a prequel. There are some very good movie series that have them. The Star Wars series had prequels. The Exorcist had a couple of them. The Lord Of The Rings will have one in a few years too. I'm sure there are plenty of other movies too, so I think Flynn the famous fox squirrel should also get one. How I Met Flynn.

I happened to be on a routine hike, not expecting to find much of anything. The area I was walking was a good place for squirrels because of all the acorns laying around. The problem was that I was having no luck finding any squirrels yet. That's when I heard a little noise off to my right!

I looked over at a big tree and just saw a little face that was spying on me from the side pull back behind the tree and disappear. I had experience with this behavior so I waited quietly right where I was. After a few false starts the face poppped back out to reveal my new acquaintance.


When Flynn finally understood that I wasn't going to leap over at him and gobble him up he decided to come out from behind the tree to see why I was there. He examined me for quite a few seconds before he finally made another move. Being so much smaller than the other creature isn't an easy thing at all, but he soon got over it.


Here is something I was talking about yesterday. Flynn the fox squirrel had been hanging around on the side of this tree for about a minute when he finally decided to move down to the ground. Just before he did his quick little squirrel turn he squinted his eyes like that.

I don't know if this is what every squirrel does before it makes a move, but he did it every time. I think this is something I'm going to watch for from now on. This was probably the first time I was ever able to watch a squirrel this closely to see something like this. I hope it's not the last.

The picture is a little blurry because he was right in the middle of turning his head. Compare it with the top picture.


This picture above is the very next picture. As soon as he gave that little squint he darted onto the ground. This obviously isn't the best of the pictures of him but I wanted to demonstrate what I was talking about with his squinty eyes.

When he got down onto the forest floor he ran in a wide turn behind the tree again only to emerge on the other side. It was there that he began to search for acorns. After finding that first one, he started performing for the camera just as I showed you for the past several days.

He wanted me to keep taking pictures, but I was the one who finally decided to stop. I had to move onto other adventures so off I went.I walked down the trail and around a turn. As I walked back around the other side of that tree and down towards the lake I looked back up the hill to where he was when I left him.


There he was right where I left him! My zoom lense is the only thing that let me get this clear picture of him. I actually took a total of ten more pictures of him sitting in that exact same pose before I moved on again. He never moved once. He must have been very tired from that long photo shoot.

This is the very last picture I took of Flynn the fox squirrel, and the last time I saw him. I wonder what he's doing now.

26 comments:

  1. I wish I could hang off the side of a tree like Flynn! :-)

    I'm curious what the Lord of the Rings prequel will be. Are they filming the Hobbit or one of the other books?

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  2. Could be Flynn is still sitting there waiting for you to come and take more pictures. Great photos, I've enjoyed the peek into the Flynn files.

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  3. Flynn is cute and looks very friendly! Good capture. I can even see his facial expressions! :)

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  4. Flynn should have a pair of X-ray eyes, he scanned and made sure you are a good guy before he could pose for you.

    Both of you made friend.

    And you have missed him so much."I wonder what he's doing now." You see, you are murmuring.

    By the way, why Flynn is not a girl?

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  5. Very clear picture of Flynn, Ratty.
    The squirrel looks chubby and well fed.olu

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  6. I think Flynn needs a pair of glasses thats why he was squinting at you!

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  7. You have established a great relationship with Flynn! Beautiful photos, Ratty!

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  8. i got a little chuckle when i saw him peeking around the tree. what great shots.

    hugz!

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  9. I've never seen the Gray squirrels squinting like that. Maybe this one of yours is just saying a little prayer before he leaps each time..Ha! Ha!

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  10. It was great to meet Flynn from beginning to end...I wonder if you will run into him again some time!!

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  11. great for you to meet Flynn and befriended him well enough to allow you to have a long photo shoot, that was great. i love the expression in his eyes.

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  12. That squinting thing is really interesting. I'm awaiting your further research. And I really like that last pic. You framed him!

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  13. Flynn the Cover Squirrel... heh heh. ;)

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  14. He is a cutie and fantastic details in these shots.

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  15. Flynn sure is a cutie... and a star now! :D

    Love those shots, keep snapping!

    Thanks for dropping by and commenting on my blog :)

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  16. Ratty

    I've been enjoying your great episodes about the fox squirrels. It occurs to me that although we have gray, red, and flying squirrels, fox squirrels seem restricted to the mid-west.

    They really are very beautiful, wish we had some here.

    bill:www.wildramblings.com

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  17. Your buddy is just adorable and kinda' makes me want to invite squirrels back into my yard!?? Naaaah, too messy around the bird feeders and too intent on planting Black Walnut trees everywhere!

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  18. What is he doing now?
    Probably squinting and looking for his friend Ratty!!

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  19. Flynn has quite a personality. How cute. thanks for sharing. Love the squirrels.

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  20. Flynn has quite a personality. How cute. thanks for sharing. Love the squirrels.

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  21. Flynn is a cutie and seems to have taken to you and your camera. He did a good job of posing for you, excellent photos.

    I love it when they play peak a boo, it is so cute. I think they are trying to decide if you are a predator. One observation I have made with these little guys is when they freeze, or sit very still, they seem to think they are invisible and hiding from whoever is near. Not very effective if an actual predator is about.

    Great post Ratty.

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  22. @John
    The last thing I read said they were going to turn The Hobbit into the next movie, as the prequel. There was a question of who had rights to the story, so I'm not sure how far along they are at this point.
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    @Ann
    Maybe I'll get lucky and when I return Flynn will come scampering down his tree to greet me.
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    @Tes
    Flynn was a very expressive little squirrel. He certainly deserved the week that I dedicated to him.
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    @Rainfield
    I'm fairly sure that Flynn was a boy because of something I saw when I looked at him. It's hard to guess with a squirrel though, and I'm just guessing.
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    @VanillaSeven
    Either my camera was working extremely well or Flynn was incredibly photogenic.
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    @The Painter
    I think I might have discovered the first squirrel with poor eyesight. (You should put samples of your excellent artwork on the web. A blog like mine would make a good showcase. You'd get many more customers.)
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    @Icy BC
    I hope Flynn comes back so I can write about his further adventures.
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    @PJ
    I was surprised that he came out for the pictures after he peeked out like that.
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    @Ginnymo
    It could be a prayer. I think he was squinting much faster than it seems in the pictures. I'm really curious about it now.
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    @Allotments4you
    I hope I'll see him again. Maybe one day he''l come down his tree to greet me. Or maybe he'll tell me about some of his squirrel adventures.
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    @Betchai
    He seemed top be a very happy little squirrel. I guess he loved the camera.
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    @Sharkbytes
    I hope to find out more about his squinting. I keep wondering if it's something that every squirrel does or if it's just him.
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    @Julia
    Flynn did an excellent job for his photo shoot. He's a huge star.
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    @Poetic Shutterbug
    I'm glad he was patient enough with me to let me take all of these pictures.
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    @Nessa
    I hope he doesn't let his stardom go to his head. From some of the squirrel stories I've heard though, it may already be too late.
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    @Bill
    It's the Fox Squirrels that dominate around here. There are black squirrels mixed in, but the normal grays are nowhere to be found. I've only ever seen one. I've also seen one red, but even though they are around, no flying squirrels. The fox squirrels really are beautiful.
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    @WillOaks
    I think squirrels plant those trees on purpose. That seems to be their main job.
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    @The Retired One
    I looked for him the very next day, but I couldn't find him. Maybe he was hiding from all the dogs that were there that day.
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    @DK Miller
    He was doing his best to show off his personality that day. I'm glad I found him.
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    @SquirrelQueen
    He seemed to look up every once in awhile to make sure I was still watching. It was kind of funny.

    The very next day I had two black squirrels freeze like that. I got some pictures, but the bad lighting ruined them all.

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  23. I wish you can meet Flynn again (hopefully Flynn and Friends, lols). Thanks for sharing your Squirrel encounter to us! :)

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  24. @Sugar Daddy Dating
    I'm sure I'll see Flynn again soon. He has plenty of friends that I see every day too. I already have a few pictures, but I'll give everyone a break for a few days.

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  25. Flynn is such a cute and brave squirrel ^_^

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  26. @The Envoy
    Flynn would appreciate your kind words. He loves compliments.

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