A Fun Little Critter

I found a new little friend while I was out exploring the other day. This thirteen-lined ground squirrel popped up in the grass without noticing me at first. These little guys look a bit like chipmunks at first. But once you get to know them you realize they aren't really very similar at all.

This one caught me a little by surprise because I didn't know yet that they might be common around here. I saw a couple of them in Michigan, but I've been seeing them kind of frequently here in the mid-west.

I tell you, it's kind of fun to be doing a post about an animal again. It's been so long since I've really done any like this. It seems like animal posts were always what I did in the past. The nature parks I go to today are much wilder than my older ones, so the animals are more shy around humans. This was a little more populated area though.

I didn't get the chance to take any more than these two pictures. He noticed me almost as soon as I lifted my camera. I was able to follow him pretty well with the new camera, but he quickly disappeared into the grass. I didn't see him again after that.

Just like that he was gone. That's okay because now he's famous. Now there are these pictures so we all know that this little fella exists. Some small part of you will always remember him now. That thought always gives me a good feeling.

I hope now that I'm traveling around a bit more that I'll get to see more animals like this. I've seen wild turkeys and deer while I was driving, but it's kind of hard to get any pictures in those situations. Maybe I'll get some turkeys one time. I've never had pictures of them yet. I hope so. Talk to you later.