Squirrel Sunday.....western cousins

You know how I love finding new squirrel cousins! We were at our local zoo Friday and it was a beautiful day. The Prairie Dogs were out in the open scampering around. These adorable little critters are "cousins" of my squirrels....same family Sciuridae. They are a type of ground squirrel. I'm not usually fortunate enough to see them out and about.
I love their fat bodies and stubby tail that wags when they waddle. Prairie Dogs live mostly west of the Mississippi River in the large grasslands and prairies. They make intricate tunnels underground with separate burrows for different activities.

They live in large colonies or "towns". They got their name from the "barking" sound they use as a warning call.

They pile dirt up around the entrances of their burrows and use that as a post to keep watch.

Look at the fat little butt and tail!

They found something interesting to eat while we were there and I took a zillion photos of them nibbling on it.

Look at the cute face :-) There is a low plexiglass wall below that makes it look like it is swimming in water while it eats.

Tried to get the teeth in a shot. Look at those "fingers".

"I think someone is watching me"

"Oh....it's you. I've heard about you and your camera."

"Don't you ever put that camera down and go away?"

Water play......

Thursday's light was just right for shooting reflections on the water. I have a few other shots I will mix in to break up the monotony.Grasses
This Downy was pecking on all the dead logs in the water. He seemed whiter than the ones I see at home....must just be the light.

Mike spotted this muskrat, but I didn't get a clear shot that could be cropped.

Tree patterns

Circle

I wish the reflection was a bit darker on this one. I actually took a better shot of this bush last year, but I like its shape and patterns.

Trunk in the sunlight....an island in the last of the duckweed.

Trunks...light

My favorite goose shot of the day amid the reflections.

Trunks

Geese and trees

Barn and trees ( I enhanced the color a bit)

Geese

Trunks 2

Geese and trees 2

Gray Squiggles

Duck and Goose and trees

SkyWatch Friday.....

It's SkyWatch Friday time! On Thursday we finally got a bit of blue sky late in the day. I shot a few cloud photos at home.....so good to see blue and a bit of sunshine!
Looking up through the big Oak tree in the front yard.

Between the dome and the garage looking at one of our squirrel nests. I think there are 3 in that tree and 3 in the oak out front.
Too nice to stay home now that the sun was out, so we headed to the wetlands.

Being late in the afternoon, the reflections on the water were the most exciting part of the visit :-) I took a lot of those....I love looking at the pictures the trunks make on the water.

The sun is sinking......

....reflecting on the rail. Shooting the sun makes everything else look really dark.

Lighting up the plants on the water

...turning the tree squiggles orange

We drove down towards the river further southwest to try to catch more of the sunset.

Sinking into a sky or red and black.

That's my sky for this week. Suppose to be nice today.

What was in your sky this week?

Click on the sidebar icon for more SkyWatch Friday shots.

Leftovers....waiting for better weather

We've had gloom and rain the last few days. Getting colder, too. Tomorrow we may have sunshine and I will get out and take some new photos.....I hope! I just liked this log. I keep wondering if something lives in it. I always wonder that about trees and logs with holes in them :-)
Not on speaking terms?

Snoozing in the sun. I can't imagine why you would snooze while standing on one leg with your head on backwards. She looks a lot more comfortable to me.

Sneaking past them....they didn't even care I was there.

These were bathing before settling down.

I just liked this leaf.....especially with the sun shining through it.

"Ick....do I have to put my feet in that?"

Headless goose.........looks like it belongs on a platter.

Look at those knobby knees! Makes me think of an old man in shorts.

Now that I have put you to sleep for the morning.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Pigeons....

It would be impossible to drive downtown without seeing pigeons. Yet, I have never really taken the time to photograph them or look at them more closely.Most of the time I am driving by somewhere and look up and see hundreds like on the edge of this building.
I cropped this some to get a little closer look.

I didn't even know that they are in fact Rock Doves (Feral Pigeon) according to my Sibley field guide. This one was rather pretty! With Mike driving, I usually am hanging out the window while stopped at a light trying to take photos.

Most are dark colored like these, but an occasional white one gets mixed in. Would like to see that one closer!

Their feathers are rather pretty when you get closer and I can see that I will have to park somewhere downtown and try for some better shots of the variety of colors.

No matter how common a bird is, it can still be very interesting to study!