Hey, sweet-cheeks! How about dinner?

To which she replied...Get lost, you cad!

The squirrels are definitely headed into their breeding season.  A few weeks ago, all the chasing was done with great aggression...now, the goal is to win the girl.  There were at least a half dozen squirrels running around in the clearing in the woods today, sometimes with as many as four (presumably) males in hot pursuit of one winsome target.  So far the females seem to be resisting the ardent advances of their suitors, but I suspect that won't last much longer.  

I posted two other shots on Flickr:
Lothario attempting to approach just a little bit closer
and
the seldom-seen two-headed squirrel
In all cases, just after the photos were snapped, the female rebuffed the male and took off.  One wonders where the fox was during all of this?  I put the chances somewhere between slim and none that the squirrels aren't going to take a hit sometime soon.  But that's nature, isn't it?

Temps warmed up into the 30's (F) today which felt downright balmy after the last week.  I spent a fair amount of time outside stalking various things in the yard.  With warmer temps, the large numbers of sparrows have dispersed so I did some cleaning up under the feeders.  I believe tomorrow is going to be in the 50's so I'm holding out some hope that I might find an insect if I poke about in the garden.  

Hubs is leaving for Alabama tomorrow - lots to do right now with his mom.  He'll return just after I leave for Arizona next week, so this will be a long stretch apart for us.  

For all you Titmouse fans out there, I'm putting an especially cute Tufted Titmouse in Extra for you.  That perky crest was in response to the dish of meal worms I'd just put out - they love the mealies!

Wonderful. heartfelt speech by President Obama last night.  I hope that his life, post-White House, is filled with happiness and love.  Also watched Pres-Elect Trump's press conference today.  I'm not sure what to hope for there. Wisdom, I guess.

Happy Hump Day, people.

xo
Debbi