Tag Archives: squirrel
Insomnia is the new black
Woke up early again, so we walked early again.
Definitely too dark for crows.
And flowers.
But there were still things to photograph, some of which will end up newnightlyprompts.
And some that won’t:
Still dark when we got home. And cold.
The morning coffee ritual warmed me up.
The good news is, I got to see eight crows before leaving for work.
Waiting for me as usual, wondering where the hell I’ve been.
And, of course, with the crows comes … the thieving bastard!
What are you staring at??
Got home and no dead rats immediately obvious in the crawlspaces.
So out I went to awkwardly shine a flashlight through vents.
And encountered Thieving Bastard, staring at me.
So, since a crow was also staring, I put some peanuts out.
He came back after finishing off the crow’s peanuts, and now he’s staring at me from the fence, waiting for more.
Bastard.
This. This is what I’m dealing with.
I step out into by backyard and I’m greeted by this shifty bastard, staring me down while rubbing his paws together with glee.
I put out the peanuts for the crows.
He acts before they even notice.
Did not see that coming. But I should have.
Absolutely awful day at work. As was every single other day this week.
But I saw that coming.
I came home and went out to the backyard, hoping for some crows.
Nope.
Kinda saw that coming, too.
Instead, there was a lone squirrel, who I call Fat Bastard, sitting on the lowest branch on the tree.
Looking at me.
And as he stared, he started yelling.
Raaah! Raah! Raah!
Translation:
Where the f*ck are my peanuts!
Thieving bastard…
So that’s how it’s going to be…
Up late due to being, well, up late last night.
Hoping for a break in the weather, I decided to start our walk even later by having cereal first.
Turns out we had about a teaspoon of milk left.
Which I discovered after pouring my cereal.
Not a great start to the new year.
The weather finally cleared up enough to risk a walk. Albeit in my yellow Stay Puft Marshmallow Man rain slicker.
No car was going to fail to see me and take me out the first day of 2026.
No, sir!
Continuing the worrying trend of a bad start to the year, I had to pass a neighbor in his garage, garage door open, yelling at someone inside his house.
A lot.
[No photo because I’m not crazy.]
I didn’t get an imminent violence vibe, so didn’t feel compelled to call the cops a few hours into my new year.
Not that it would have done any good. Last year, for a different neighbor, I did feel compelled to call the cops.
Twice.
They never came out.
About ten crows were following me this morning, which surprised me, given how late a start we’d gotten.
And a gull, who settled in with the crows but never attempted to snag a peanut.
I’ve also noticed the local squirrels have taken to keeping an eye on us as we walk.
Instead of flowers, I was struck by the way the sunlight, when it peeked through the clouds, sparkled off the water droplets on the flowers.
It was a solid positive sign about this new year, so I focused on those with my camera.
And a bunch of lemons on the side of the road:
And then the miracle happened.
The best sort of droplet photo opportunity you could hope for.
The most intense, vibrant rainbow I’d ever seen.
A sweeping, complete arc across the sky.
The pictures I took don’t do it justice, so I’ll just share the one that saved 2026 for me:
And then home, followed by about six crows, to my morning coffee ritual which, not gonna lie, also saved my 2026.
Almost, but not quite
After my coffee ritual and breakfast, Big Daddy and Little Lady showed up.
Demanding their peanuts.
As I went out into the backyard to leave the peanuts on the fence, the squirrel showed up.
The thieving bastard squirrel.
Bold little sh*t practically walked up and mugged me for a peanut.
Took it, then turned his back on me.
Then thought better of it and ran into a tree.
Where he taunted me.
And Big Daddy and Little Lady.
They were not happy he’d made off with one of their peanuts.
But I left out more, which they got because Thieving Bastard was occupied.
Eating his ill-gotten gains.
Tiiiiiim…BURR!
Something like twenty crows this morning.
They tend to stick around longer and follow you if you’re skimpy with the peanuts.
They did fly around me, but not in an impressive manner, given the lower numbers.
Some interesting and pretty things along our route.
The morning coffee ritual. Disrupted shortly after this photo when Doggo knocked over the tree and made an unholy mess of water, broken glass, and scattered ornaments.
The chase is on!
Only three, maybe four crows this morning.
And I’ve discovered that all the crows look and waddle like Waddles.
So maybe I chose the wrong trait to inspire a name…
There was a small squirrel in the road at one point. The crows had dispersed, so I threw it a peanut.
Out of nowhere, a crow descended from above and bogarted that peanut.
I was then treated to the squirrel chasing the crow, trying to get its snack!
It was dash, waddle, waddle, pause. Dash, waddle, waddle, pause.
In the middle of an intersection.
The crow eventually tired of what it clearly viewed as a game and flew off.
I threw another peanut to the squirrel.
This time it got it.
ian m dudley 