Poetic Shutterbug

Taken at the Golden Gate Bridge. Taken at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. Taken at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. Click the above widget for more critter photography

Taken among the redwoods at the SF Botanical Gardens. Click Photo To Enlarge I was traipsing around the redwood trail at the botanical gardens when I spotted this little guy perched about 15 to 20 feet high upon a redwood. What was interesting about this is that he did not move. I got as close as I could but still had to use my zoom lens. I deliberately made noise yet he did not budge which is very unusual for a squirrel. At first glance, due to the fact that his tail was in that position I thought he was sleeping until I saw his eyes were opened. There were other squirrels as feisty as ever climbing other trees yet this guy did not move an inch. I was there watching probably about 10 minutes or so and his pose was fixed the entire time. I still don't know what he was doing. My guess is he wanted to jump but was afraid or he was praying he would land safely? :D My two questions this week are: 1. Do you study animals while out photographing? 2. What is y...

All of these photos were taken at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. Please click the photos to enlarge. Enjoy! Click the above widget for more Scenic Sunday fun.

I brought Nutter Butters to the gardens with me yesterday and the squirrels were delighted :)

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I fed him Nutter Butters and from then on he followed me around the entire day :) Check out all the other camera critters for today by clicking the above widget.

This little guy loved posing for the camera :) Click here for more straight out of the camera shots.

Though we are not suppose to feed the squirrels at the gardens, it is always something I enjoy. After all, they do need "good eats" every once in a while. This particular day I brought honey roasted nuts. There were not as many squirrels around as usual, maybe because of the hot weather. So, when I found this little guy in one of the demonstration gardens I decided to let him have the entire bag. He was a bit afraid of me at first but when I piled the nuts in front of him we became instant friends. He even let me take a short video clip of him which you can see below. He was a cutie. For more cute critters, click the above widget.

While visiting my squirrel diva buddies at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens , I always try and bring them a healthy treat. This particular day I decided to surprise them with one of my favorite cereals, Frosted Flakes, sans milk. It is very amusing watching the behavior of these little critters. I placed a pile of the flakes on the ground and they would pick out one flake and prance away over to a bench, up a tree or just a few feet away from the pile. They'd munch on that flake until it was gone then - return and repeat. It is so cute to watch them even though we are not supposed to feed them anything. When they beg, my heart melts and I have to comply. Be sure to visit the other participants by clicking the above widget.

All photos taken at the Botanical Gardens. Funny thing is, everyone feeds the squirrels, it's one of the highlights of hanging out at the gardens.

Taken at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens

All of these photos were taken by me @ The Botanical Gardens. The above photo depicts a flowering plant from South Africa though I did not remember the name. They were quite beautiful. I think what I may start doing there is exploring one section at a time while taking notes of names etc... Otherwise I just go crazy and take pics randomly of everything. Also, the squirrel is not necessarily a sign of Spring however I had to include him because he just cracked me up. I was walking along a path and he came up to me and perched himself on a rock and stood there until I snapped the photo, then off he went. It was hilarious and it happens all the time now. They are like little divas on the red carpet.

I took these photos at the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco I wanted to share with you a story I heard on the news this evening. It's about a squirrel population in Walnut Creek, California where the residents are upset over the sudden influx of squirrels. They state that the squirrels are eating everything and anything in their gardens, they are ruining the infrastructure and are basically being a nuisance. So, to rid the community of the squirrels they have decided to lure hawks to the area with raptor perches so that the hawks can perch above the area in order to hunt their prey - the squirrels. Now I understand the problem but I absolutely do not agree with this solution. I think it's inhumane and just plain wrong. Your thoughts? You can see the full story with video by clicking the link below. See The Video & Read The Entire Story Here

These were all taken at the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco and these are three different little critters. I got lucky this time with the squirrel population. They usually dash away as I approach. I got very lucky with the above video. I was starting to take a photo of some flowers across the way when I heard rustling at my back. I turned around and found this little squirrel having a snack. I slowly turned the video camera on and began to film. He was so engrossed in his meal he did not even notice me. Ratty, this one's for you. This little guy was in deep contemplation :) I'd also like to give a shout out to Will Oaks Studio and thank her for the award. Please check out her blog which displays some of the most beautiful photos and artwork on the internet . Thank you.