YouTube Video

I just uploaded my first video on YouTube. The ending features my ground squirrel Fenwick. Before playing video, I recommend pausing Tingstad & Rumbel (to the right of this page) if you don't want to hear two nice songs simultaneously.

Least Chipmunks

Least chipmunks, being small and quick, are difficult to photograph. They are North America's smallest squirrels.

Red Squirrels

The most common mammals at the Weminuche Wilderness were red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and least chipmunks (Tamias minimus). The red squirrels were more often heard than seen; they have a twittering call. The ones near Squaw Lake were the most photogenic.

Here are pics of some red squirrels I proudly photographed...

Weminuche Wilderness

I just returned from an exciting trip to the beautiful Weminuche Wilderness, which is part of the Rio Grande National Forest in Colorado. I have seen many wildlife: red squirrels, least chipmunks, golden-mantled ground squirrels, deer, and a porcupine. Outside of the wilderness, looking outside the bus that got me there, I saw prairie dogs, marmots, and pronghorn antelopes. I managed to take pictures of red squirrels and least chipmunks which I will post shortly. Below are pictures I've taken of the wilderness.

Weminuche Trip

I won't try to get myself bothered by squirrel haters any longer. Instead, it would be better for me to persue peace, beauty, and harmony. Which is partially why I signed up for a trip with the Sierra Club to the Colorado Rockies; more specifically the Weminuche Wilderness. I will be leaving by bus to go there next Thursday. I look forward to being surrounded by the pristine beauty of God's creation. I love to hike. I don't get tired after several miles, in fact, I'm kind of disappointed with the White Rock Creek trail in Dallas, which was "only" seven miles long. Needless to say I was looking for more trail after it ended. At Weminuche, I am looking forward to hiking for dozens of miles a day. I'm also longing to see and photograph squirrels I know about but never seen before. To see a list of squirrel species found in the Colorado Rockies, please refer to the archives of June 9 and 10.

The Sierra Club Website
Weminuche Wilderness Website

Squirrel Haters

Okay, here's another rant about squirrel hater/killers. It's not my favorite thing to talk about, but here goes. I try my best to talk sense into them about squirrels, but they still think they're vermin. Perhaps I shouldn't be angry at these people, but rather, feel sorry for them. Not just for whatever squirrel problems they may be going through, but also because they don't seem to have that ability to see the good things in squirrels. It's as if they're in a muddy pit of hatred and bloodlust; and they don't know how to, or are simply unwilling to, swim to the shore of truth and beauty.

Roy Orr Trail

I decided to go to Roy Orr trail for a couple of reasons. To test my new Fujifilm camera on the squirrels, and to attempt to collect pecan tree seedlings for my yard. It was uneventful, because it is not really the right time of year to do either of these things. For one, I was only able to get a couple of pictures of squirrels, and they came out too blurry. I never got the chance to test other modes on the camera because there wasn't enough squirrels. The other problem was, the soil was much too hard and dry to dig up pecan seedlings without destroying the roots. So I went back home empty-handed. :-(

Perhaps I'll have better luck next time!

On a bit of side humor, I don't think this trail was named by someone named Roy Orr. After the trail was completed, some people were disputing about what to call it, until a dog came along and barked, "Royorrrrr".