Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Yard Varmint

The white tailed antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus) is commonly seen in our local desert around Joshua Tree. He looks more like a chipmunk than a squirrel to me, but the experts say he's a squirrel. Even daytime summer temperatures don't seem to slow him down too much. We found this little guy lounging on our back patio last weekend. I refer to him as "varmint" because he's very fond of our patio plants (eating them, not admiring them). Along with the local rabbit population, these guys can eat up most everything you plant, including cactus. This one's especially fond of the large cactus my wife has in a big pot on the patio.

 They like to stretch out really flat on the cool patio concrete. I suspect that exposing more surface area helps them cool down. I just have to laugh sometimes at the way they look. I ran to get my camera when I saw this guy standing on his skinny little hind legs like a prairie dog. It was so funny looking, but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to capture it.


Varmint yoga?? I think this one's called the "up dog"!
But the big problem is, how do you stay mad at such a cute little varmint??

I'll leave you with a shot of our local town fireworks display. This is a lawn chair point-of-view shot. My camera was on a tripod, but the legs weren't extended, so it gives a nice low perspective and captures all the onlookers. For those who celebrate the 4th, hope you had a great one!!
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45 comments:

  1. AmyJuly 5, 2017 at 2:52 PM

    awww he/she is so cute, we don't have them here but I guess our equivalent would be a ferret.

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  2. Bill July 5, 2017 at 3:32 PM

    I like the one that looks like he's doing push-ups! All great!

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  3. sage and spiritJuly 5, 2017 at 4:40 PM

    Varmint yoga!

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  4. The Furry GnomeJuly 5, 2017 at 7:04 PM

    At first I thought that was one very tired Cipmunk! Great fireworks shot.

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  5. Ruth HiebertJuly 5, 2017 at 7:14 PM

    He is cute, there is no doubt about that.

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  6. ChristineJuly 5, 2017 at 7:54 PM

    Haha! Looks so much like my hubby doing his back stretches - cute varmint!
    Great fireworks shot!

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  7. rupam sarmaJuly 5, 2017 at 9:51 PM

    So cute :) Lovely pics.
    Loved the fireworks click.
    Greetings

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  8. RevrunnerJuly 6, 2017 at 1:22 AM

    Ha! I thought there for a moment that Christine was calling her husband a "varmint". :-)

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  9. AndyJuly 6, 2017 at 2:07 AM

    This varmint is a cutie.

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  10. BillJuly 6, 2017 at 3:22 AM

    What a cute little varmint, he looks pretty comfortable all stretched out. Fantastic fireworks shot!

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  11. s.cJuly 6, 2017 at 3:51 AM

    Very nice shots indeed and the squirrel looks absolutely cute.

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  12. Author R. Mac WheelerJuly 6, 2017 at 5:49 AM

    Yep. That is one cute varmit. Maybe if you put out something for him, he'd leave your cacti alone.

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  13. 黄清华 Wong Ching WahJuly 6, 2017 at 6:22 AM

    Looks like it is doing Yoga!

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  14. HappyKJuly 6, 2017 at 8:40 AM

    Wow, I've never seen them stretched out like that before. We have quite a few of them around the house here. They like the bird feeders too.

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  15. WayneJuly 6, 2017 at 10:28 AM

    The squirrel is really cute. I never thought about that type of perspective for a fireworks shot, that's brilliant!

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  16. Sharon WagnerJuly 6, 2017 at 1:52 PM

    He is so adorable. You really got great shots of him posing like a playboy bunny centerfold.

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  17. Yogi♪♪♪July 6, 2017 at 3:03 PM

    I know the experts say he (she?) is a squirrel but it sure resembles a chipmunk. If I remember right (and I rarely do) it seems that chipmunks assume similar poses on hot summer days.

    That is a great capture of fireworks and I love that you got the onlookers also. I just use the "fireworks" setting on my camera and a couple years ago I finally read the instructions on how to make it work and it works well. My smallest camera, A Nikon AW110 works best of all for some reason.

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  18. MichelleJuly 6, 2017 at 3:33 PM

    Oh dear....that varmit is too cute!

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  19. JimJuly 6, 2017 at 3:53 PM

    Cute varmit.

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  20. Carol @Comfort Spring StationJuly 6, 2017 at 4:32 PM

    Very cute exercises

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  21. RajeshJuly 6, 2017 at 5:02 PM

    Very cool shots of squirrel. I like that fireworks.

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  22. LizJuly 6, 2017 at 9:01 PM

    I must say, he certainly is cute!! You captured his cheeky character well. The fireworks shot is fabulous!

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  23. Photo CacheJuly 6, 2017 at 9:29 PM

    The critter was wonderfully captured. And so does the fireworks.

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  24. NatureFootstepJuly 7, 2017 at 2:42 AM

    it does look like a yoga session. Cool captures :)
    Great firework image. :)

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  25. eileeninmdJuly 7, 2017 at 5:26 AM

    Hello, it is a cute squirrel but so bad. It is a shame it is eating your plants. Beautiful capture of the fireworks. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

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  26. MelissaJuly 7, 2017 at 7:25 AM

    Must be a tough life for a squirrel-chipmunk with all that heat! I do like his yoga poses. When I lived in Michigan I would see squirrels stretch out flat along tree branches on hot summer days.

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  27. carol l mckennaJuly 7, 2017 at 8:03 AM

    Very creative shots of the 'cute little varmint' and fantastic fireworks shot! ^_^

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  28. thomasJuly 7, 2017 at 8:26 AM

    Happy Independence Day! Beautiful fireworks burst captured.

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  29. Photos by StanJuly 7, 2017 at 10:32 AM

    Does the varmint like fireworks? Speaking of fireworks, kudos for including people in the foreground of your shot; that is something I have not seen before.

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  30. AlanaJuly 7, 2017 at 3:01 PM

    Varmint yoga, indeed! I don't like varmints but I loved those photos.

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  31. Indah Nuria SavitriJuly 7, 2017 at 4:17 PM

    Those varmints are surely cute! And I love your fireworks shot as well

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  32. JeannaJuly 7, 2017 at 7:10 PM

    I would have thought chimpmunk rather than squirrel and I'd go with the varmint description too. It looks as if it's modeling for a centerfold, hahaha. You have a lot of interesting critters around you I suspect. The Fourth pic looks so perfect and inviting.

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  33. CatarinaJuly 7, 2017 at 7:43 PM

    I celebrated the 1st!

    I see this black squirrel in my backyard almost every single day. The little creature likes to run on top of the fence, and... sporadically... walk on the patio, but I never saw this tiny thing flat on the ground!! :))

    That is a great shot !

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  34. Minoru SaitoJuly 8, 2017 at 4:55 AM

    Hi! This squirrel very cute. It looks very fun in your fire work festival. Thanks for sharing.

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  35. Small City ScenesJuly 8, 2017 at 7:10 AM

    Them pesky little varmints---how can they be so cute and do so much damage. We have a little Red Douglas Squirrel that hangs around the bird feeders on occasion---not often so I am thinking it might be the same on but who knows. When it sees the dog---who doesn't bother the birds the Red sits in the Filbert tree and chatters at the dog. Kinda funny.
    the fireworks image looks perfect with the onlookers and thanks for mentioning that my G-daughter did a good job. She and that little phone of hers take excellent pics.
    MB

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  36. John's IslandJuly 8, 2017 at 7:55 AM

    Hi SP&P! Another great set of photos! Love the pics of the little squirrel. That Yoga shot is just too cool! :-) Neat fireworks shot too! Thanks, as always, for sharing!

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  37. Sallie (FullTime-Life)July 8, 2017 at 12:53 PM

    That squirrel yoga pose could not be cuter! It would seriously make a great poster for a yoga studio

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  38. Nancy ChanJuly 9, 2017 at 1:16 AM

    I can't tell between a chipmunk and a squirrel. Lol! This little squirrel is really cute and it really gave you all those great poses! Just have to love this cute one!

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  39. Klara SJuly 9, 2017 at 5:37 AM

    So cute! I like 'varmint yoga' very much ;)

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  40. Stewart MJuly 9, 2017 at 12:41 PM

    I thought ti looked like he was doing push-ups : varmint work outs!

    Cheers - Stewart M, Mells, Somerset, UK

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  41. orvokkiJuly 9, 2017 at 11:15 PM

    This squirrel is so very cute.... You took lovely shots of it.

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  42. AnonymousJuly 10, 2017 at 6:00 PM

    Am glad you had a nice 4th of July! Beautiful capture - wow, you don't need a tripod! You are right, it does not look like a squirrel - isn't his tail too small? The squirrels here have a huge bushy tail... Thanks for coming by!

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  43. SandyJuly 10, 2017 at 8:01 PM

    You captured the varmint like a cartoon character! Too freakin cute. Seeing this post also gave me a huge *sigh*. It's because on my way home from the Lavender festival I hit one. It had no chance! Totally sad. And then moments later a prairie dog pops up in the middle of the road. I swerved and miss him or her. Geeze.

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  44. Billy Blue EyesJuly 14, 2017 at 5:44 AM

    What a great looking critter certainly does not look like a squirrel

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  45. Pat TillettJuly 15, 2017 at 9:15 PM

    Okay, that is about the cutest little stinker I've seen in quite a while...

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