Surprise Visitors

We enjoy living in the country and seeing all kinds of beautiful birds and other wildlife. Since we have several bird feeders out we get lots of birds and now ground squirrels (that I thought were chipmunks) and typical bushy-tailed squirrels. They all like to catch the sunflower seeds that drop from the feeders. Normally the only critters that come near the patio or deck are the hummingbirds and orioles because their food is on the deck.

Yesterday I had a couple of surprise visitors up on the deck, which is 10 feet above the back yard. These two little squirrels looked right at home all sprawled out on the deck railing! I don't have any food up there so the purpose of their excursion is still a puzzle. They stayed for several minutes, after I spotted them, even though our cat was watching them from inside the patio door. I snapped these photos from several feet inside the door, but even when I opened the door they didn't scurry off right away. I don't know if they have visited before, but it does explain the black walnut I found on the deck one day. The nearest tree is half an acre away and my dogs don't go down there.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are having a great week!