Critters!

This week my dad finally started putting birdseed out again. We usually feed the birds in the winter but the supply had run out and it took a while to get over to the hardware store. He still has to fill the feeders but he tossed seed out on the patio, on the back steps and on the cinder blocks out near the grass. The immediate result: squirrels!

We got some birds eventually, too, but the squirrels have been crowding the patio in their eagerness to forage here. Not only do we have sunflower seeds, but Dad also got some corn still-on-the-cob, and even tossed out some hazelnuts that he said had gone stale. Time for a party!

There are six squirrels that I can spot in this picture - two by the steps, two in the cinder blocks and two in the yard just beyond that. 

I'm not sure where that greenish tinge at the bottom came from...

Anyway, here's a closeup of the squirrel in the block. There have been times when all four holes were occupied, with a squirrel on top as well! (Also note the flattened remnants of the pumpkins I put out after Halloween...)

Finally, here is a picture of something I gave my mom for Christmas. I bought it at the Miner's Castle visitor center. It's a ranger doll, and it looks just like me!

Well, it's mainly the hair that makes it - this is pretty much what mine does if I don't tie it up or braid it. You should see it when I've just washed it and then brush it out - POOF!!!

It's my very own little avatar, that my mom can keep with her when I'm away park rangering this summer*. I just have to be careful not to do anything to upset her, in case she decides to start sticking pins into it...

*I am still applying for National Park seasonal jobs for this year, but my default assumption is that I will get a position somewhere!