Yesterday it was birds thrusting their beaks up my camera lens, today it was a squirrel eyeballing me down the lens.
I’m amazed these shots are anywhere near in focus, so close was the squirrel, I managed to step back far enough to get its tail in the frame (for without a fluffy tail, what is a squirrel, but an upmarket rat?) but any further back and I’d have been in the canal.
Oh, maybe I’m being harsh, he is rather cute; grey squirrels don’t hibernate in the UK, they can’t store enough body fat to sustain themselves.
And then, there he was, gone.
Nothing else was moving on the canal
Not even the ducks
( earlier in the day, I went back to look for the ice discs, they were gone; not a trace, but I found other wondrous things.)
Technorati Tags: Peak Forest Canal
Uphilldowndale 
Oh you should have been there! Last Sunday we walked along a different stretch of the Peak Forest Canal, where it was similarly frozen over. The ice didn’t look smooth and white like this though, because a barge was trying to ram its way through! The driver/pilot/ helmsman was trying to get to a better mooring by nightfall. Every metre and a half he had to reverse and take a run at the next section. The water was full of icebergs. And the smell of overheating engine. I doubt he got anywhere near your neck of the woods but it was too cold to stand and watch him try for long.
Superb squirrel shots – just amazing!
The wildlife have figured out that you’re their best advocate, what with making beautiful portraits of them and urging people to feed them in winter and so forth. They’re all rushing to pose for you in hopes of favorable publicity and treats. It’s working, too – I’ve about decided to buy another large bag of sunflower seeds for the squirrels.
Absolutely terrific photos! I think you are in your element! The wintry weather has prompted me to write another poem, and Spud may be needed to harness his strength (if you’d like to check it out on my site).
Thanks so much for sharing your part of the world in such a phenomenal way!
Kibble Chops absolutely HATES squirrels for some unknown reason. If I simply showed him the photos, he would bark at the computer. Strange. He caught one once and killed it immediately, in front of Vera, Chuck and Dave. The snow and ice look very cold; it’s warmer here but the snow is very deep and worsening.
I once heard grey squirrels described as “tree climbing rats with good PR” and it kind of stuck. We rarely see the reds any more, and the cheeky grey which lives around here has been known to empty the bird feeders as soon as they’re filled up. The bold wee blighter once squared up to my neighbour’s Staffie as well (from the safety of the hut roof).
We had one that that lived in a hole in the gable end of the barn for a while, it used to get consumed with rage if anyone went near it, it used to scream and rant and jump up and down. It came to a sticky end, it fell in the cattle trough and drowned ( we assumed it couldn’t get traction to scramble out.)
Well captured squirrel , they usually are gone when one moves towards them. 🙂 The last image is beautiful!
I wish I could get that close to my squirrels! That’s a good link all about them.
I like the canal photos! xx