I just love to sit outside and watch. The desert is full of motion – from small wasps that burrow underground to the occasional road runners that wander through. The animal I enjoy the most is the round-tailed ground squirrels. This is the best time of year to watch them because the babies are out and about. There is a lot of wrestling and playing going on. The mothers are there, ever watchful. They can stand straight up and not move for hours. In fact they look like little stumps. I have been outside so much watching that I have become a fixture in their lives. So they play close by and occasionally one will stray into my space and stare back at me. There is one ground squirrel with unusual markings on it’s belly and mom named her Buttons. The other day I grabbed my pistachios, a cold drink and my book and went out to sit in my chair. You can imagine my surprise when Buttons came up to me, then sprawled out on her belly next to my feet. There I sat, calmly reading with a ground squirrel at my feet. She didn’t move until I moved to go in the house. Maybe she thought I was one of them because I eat nuts too or I gave her wonderful shade.
This morning I heard a commotion… I saw a crow, flying low to the ground and the ground squirrels all went diving into their homes. For a few moments there was total chaos and then I saw the crow fly off with one.
I hope it wasn’t Buttons.
I have uploaded more pictures of the trip to Carlsbad, Click here to see the rest.
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