Monday, July 26, 2010

Squirrel On The Road

Another rainy day, but the squirrels came out to play. I saw this squirrel out on the road right after another big rainstorm. It was just sitting there eating a nut. I'm sure many of you have seen all sorts of creatures in the middle of the road before. Not a good place to be. But this one was odd for some reason.

It was partially because of the squirrel's behavior. It was just so casual as it sat there as I came barreling down the road. It didn't seem to care at all that I was coming. Of course I stopped to watch it in plenty of time. But the fact that I was able to do this before it even bothered to look up was odd.

Now this next picture is the other odd thing about this squirrel that I found interesting. The light on this very cloudy and stormy day was just right so the squirrel cast no shadow in the picture. Take a closer look by either clicking on the picture with your mouse wheel or by holding down Ctrl and then clicking. That will open it up full size for you.

The lighting effect makes the picture look fake. It looks strangely like I added the squirrel later. But that is not what happened at all. The squirrel is really on the road. This odd effect is the reason I noticed these pictures. I thought this one looked fake, but I was really there, waiting patiently while this squirrel finished its snack.

After what seemed like forever, the squirrel finally looked up and saw me. Maybe it could have been deaf, but I'm sure it would have felt the rumble on the road. It was a strange day, so I'm sure it's not normal behavior for this little guy.

Now take a closer look at this photo. This time you can see the squirrel's shadow because he's standing up. I just wanted to point this out because I emphasized so much before that the other picture looked fake. I may like to say, "Never trust a rat." But I always tell you later if I was trying to trick you. That's what makes it fun.

So the squirrel made it safely to the side of the road and ran into the forest. I drove slowly by just in case. And it was all over. Later I saw a flock of the biggest blue jays I had ever seen, but the darkness of the afternoon sky, and their shyness about the camera gave me no good pictures. Another day, another adventure.


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15 comments:

  1. It's a miracle the squirrel wasn't killed by an oncoming car, really! He didn't seem at all inclined to move out of the road, did he, Ratty? How odd to see a single solitary squirrel there!

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  2. Sometimes animals do strange things. I was driving down the road one day when I saw a squirrel sitting on the edge of the road. I slowed down in case he decided to run in front of me but he just sat there looking at me. When I passed him I looked in my rear view mirror and saw him still sitting there and he was looking in my direction. I imagined him saying "What was that?" or "Hey, slow down"

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  3. No shadow, no acknowledgement, sitting in the middle of the road. Maybe this was a squirrel apparition.

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  4. Vampires cast no shadow.........

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  5. No need for a shadow with such foolish courage. Apparently this squirrel prefers hardtop to forest floor and is likely not long for this world.

    Bill:www.wildramblings.com

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  6. The light is very strange in these photos. I think the tree looks fake. :)

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  7. The squirrel was puzzled by the double lines: no crossing!!

    It thought for a long time whether to abide by the law.

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  8. Why did the squirrel stay, his buddies were in the brush laughing at the human reaction.They are after you again.

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  9. Don't look fake to me. Just a gloomy day and besides, he's sitting on his shadow..LOL These pics remind me of that commercial where the two squirrels almost get hit by a car and give each other a high five..I love that one!

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  10. great pictures of a bit of bizarre behaviour...oh and the squirrels shadow is there...it's just that he is sat on it!!!!

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  11. Ha- those squirrel apparitions will getcha! Maybe someone had a cardboard cutout that was playing with your head. Oh wait, maybe your head is already cracked.

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  12. Oh, that squirrel better be careful or he's gonna get smooshed doing that. Not all folks are nice enough to stop and wait until they leave the road (CardioGirl, ahem).

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  13. Not the smartest behavior for a squirrel but the ones in our Cul de sac love to do the same thing at least to me. I have stopped on more than one ocassion waiting for the little darlings to move.

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  14. Maybe it was a vampire squirrel, which means it's already dead and has nothing to fear from cars.

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  15. Very nice place. So natural. Thanks for the photo shot

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