How special is it to live in a place that, every day , supplies something new and interesting to behold?
How lucky am I?
Maybe if your eyes are open, you can find something new everywhere, every day.
But I never saw a squirrel eat orange before.
Meet “Tiny”.
Apart from the Pine Squirrels of the Pacific Northwest, I have never seen a tinier squirrel than this.
Nor a hungrier one!
Presumably, it was born earlier this year.
We noticed it about three days ago, only because it is so much smaller than all the others.
When it lies in the grass, it just about disappears
As you can see, below.
Normal size 
Tiny
Yesterday, it was out there all day, noshing on whatever it could find. And having a drink now and then.
It was an all-day banquet.
Open again today, apparently.
Tiny wants to grow big.
Yesterday it was licking at something on the deck and we wondered if it was sugar water that dripped from our hummingbird feeder.
But this morning it was tucking in to the orange I had put out for the Oriole. Who I’ve not seen since.
Our wee friend was so overcome with it’s breakfast, it tried to come in to thank us.
But one of the cats put it off the notion.
Later on, I went to investigate this.
A random handful of last Fall’s leaves.
Where did it come from and how did it get there?
Whatever leaves did not get blown away last year are nicely tucked into the woods and under bushes. The roof and gutters are all clear, so….
Inadvertently scaring off a woodchuck, I walked up toward the woods to take a photograph of “my” tree, back in leaf. On the ground I saw what looked like it may have fallen off a larger handful of leaves.
Not very exciting, I know, but as there is not a single other dried leaf to be seen on the hillside, I take this as: ………………………….EVIDENCE…………..
Of what? Some creature brought this clump of leaves from the woods and deposited it beside the metal bowl. Was it a coincidence that it dropped them here or was it deliberate?
The night of the snow, May 8th, a full block of suet was raided from our feeder. When this had happened to the feeders under the apple tree, we credited deer for the “theft”, as we see them out there standing on back legs to get apples. Easy for them to get the feeder open.
It wasn’t deer who took the suet, however.
One night recently, when I was wandering around in the dark, I heard a sound on the porch , so I went to peek out the side window by the door and caught a large raccoon in the act.
So Grant decided to offer them kibble, in lieu. Less work for them, I suppose. (?!) Grant thinks everybody needs a little help, this time of year, because they are feeding babies, and after all, we do have a large sack of cat kibble that our ungrateful felines don’t like:)
So, is the clump of leaves a “thank you”? Is it from the raccoons? Or the crows? Or someone else?
Am I going to sit up all night watching, to resolve this tiny mystery?
No.
Awesome pictures! This is the positivity I need in my life.
Could it be the remnants of a nest that feel out of an overhanging tree?
There are no trees nearby and it looked like a pile of last year’s condensed leaves. It’s one of those mysteries we are not likely to solve!