Twigs and Snails and Squirrel Seed Tales

Sometimes letting squirrels get some of the bird seed is not such a bad thing. They show their gratitude by posing endearingly for photos. This was a mid-morning nosh early this week. Unfortunately, this fellow has suffered a scrape somewhere along the way, but seems to be healing okay. I don't know if a predator tried to turn him into a meal, but we're happy to provide him with a little supplemental nutrition.

You're welcome!

My wife says that Carolina Wrens sometimes look indignant. I agree! I doubt that the body posture you see here signifies the same things that it might with a person, but it still makes me laugh to think of this tiny creature looking at me as if it expects and demands to be fed. It did in fact benefit, getting a snack if not a meal, immediately after the squirrel above moved away.

The same day, as sunset approached, the low sun lit up these leaves brilliantly for a few moments. Most of the deciduous trees in this area are barely beginning to give up their chlorophyll and show their underlying colors, but this pair was ready to show off.

Today, a snail decided to feed its way up the glass patio door. There was a little daylight left, so I got out a tripod and macro lens. The exposures were long, but the diffuse quality of the light helped to bring out the subtleties and colors of the skin and shell, and snails tend to move very slowly (though the eye stalks often wave enough to blur an image). By the way, notice the hitchhiker!

Probably the insect was feeding on detritus picked up by the snail's travels through the dirt (before it discovered the wonderful world of human technology, i.e., glass), or maybe it was even preparing to lay eggs. But if we can look for human expressions in a wren, why not imagine a non-flying insect taking a slow boat to the top of the door?

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