Of all the wonderful animals that live in Yosemite, my favorite is the Chickaree.
Lately, two of these hyper-energetic and entertaining critters have been running through the yard on a regular basis, chasing each other generally being cute. One day, I grabbed a camera and decided to see if I could get a photo.
This lovely little guy was kind enough to pose for quite some time, but I’m afraid he won’t be long for the world. After this photo session was finished, he scrambled down out of the tree and came straight toward me, passing within a few feet. Good thing I wasn’t a coyote!
Then, he turned around and repeated the act, approaching somewhat cautiously, and then darting by. This time, however, he ran up our back stairs and straight into the backboard of one of the steps with a loud clunk. Poor thing. He must have hit hard.
Maybe it wasn’t exactly nice, but I was in stitches. I’m often impressed by their quickness and dexterity, but I guess anyone can have an off day. He shook himself off, decided against climbing the remaining stairs and jumped down off our stairs and ran (sheepishly?) out across the yard.
I went back to work after having a good laugh. I love sharing space with these entertaining little creatures!