The Taming of the Shrew

We had some leftover popcorn that my husband decided to throw out for the critters. I think he thought the birds might want some, and a few of them did stop by to check it out. But the birds preferred the chopped peanuts that are much more nutritious.

Then this little fellow showed up, and as I watched, it came up from under, skittered across the snow, took some popcorn, and skittered back underneath. In seconds, it was back. It did this about a dozen times before disappearing for good.

I had a feeling it was a shrew, vole, or mole. In looking closer, it seems that shrew may be the best guess. I could, of course, be wrong, as I am no expert on small skittering creatures (though when I publish my little photo books, I do publish them under the name of Skittering Vole Press!).

I looked up shrews online and discovered an interesting article about them, called Strange and Unbelievable Facts About Shrews. I did learn some things (for instance, some species of shrew are venomous, and some can walk on water!) and if you read it, I promise you will too!

The soundtrack song for this image is Mary Chapin Carpenter, with Something Tamed, Something Wild.