Coaxing Nature

I'm so behind in posting for halloween and those cute shots of the kids and other things that have been going on.
But that is all my own fault -- I get very distracted when I'm online. The blogs, oh all those creative blogs to read. The art sites. The inspirational and thought provoking sites. The "challenges" type of sites. Those I am going to have to do, I also just want to get in on one for the sole reason that they just seem like the perfect fun thing to do to help get out of the paper scrapbooking rut/hiatus. Doing the digital LOs is much easier. And so I think I am only going to allow mega-blog readin only once a week or maybe weekends when I have more time. The projects looming in my brain start knocking around again until I do something productive. But first.

~~~how I like to waste time, ahem, I mean "how to waste time productively 101"
Yesterday we had fun coaxing a squirrel onto our deck {science and nature time}
We photographed the squirrel. {more science blended with a photography lesson}
We went outside for fresh air {recess. phys ed.}
Came back in for lunch and got ready for an afternoon of running errands.

So that encompassed my w h o le morning. yawn. I know. The the little guy thought it was very fun.

I wasn't really sure the squirrel would come back for the second round of peanuts {of course he did} I noticed him hanging out on the deck ledge and then slowly making his way to the nuts.

I decided to grab the camera as he was just too cute and furry. I had to open the sliding glass door and the screen door to get a decent shot. For a moment I thought this might scare him off, but it didn't. I paused and waited and then he froze. Then for a split second I had a when animals attack visual. I thought, "what if this open door {so close to the nuts by the way} invites him in?? what if he attacks?" I decided to deal with the when nature goes bad moment if it happened.

It didn't. His main focus was the nuts. He briefly stared at me then went about his business.
Locate food.
Make sure location is secure. {just a lady with a shiney thing in her hand}
Hold food.
Sniff.
Run.
Dig hole for food.

Then I waited......and waited....and waited....he was so quick the first time that I only got a back shot of him. I waited some more for his return. Finally he trotted up the stairs again for more. Got that second shot. But again he was fast.

This episode reminded me of the movie Over the Hedge. Which the kids and us loved. Hammy is my favorite for sure.

Then, totally unrelated.....
I love how this one lonely leaf is just hanging on so I snapped that pic before the next big wind comes blowing in around Rochester.

Off to lunch with grandma.