On bribing squirrels to pose with posies

Beautiful day today. 

I missed this stage of spring last year.  What with my cancer surgery and the ensuing agony, walking outside wasn't a priority or if it was I don't recall due to the drugs. 

Also this is the first year I've been bribing squirrels to pose for me. 

I put a few seeds around for everyone but mainly I put peanuts around the crocuses. I say put instead of threw because I was looking for some squirrel flower interaction. 

After some de rigueur crisscross approaching Notches bit. 

Pretty sure she has had her pups. 

We won't see them till they look something like this:

ie almost as big as adult squirrels but fat and cuter. 

Right now they probably look something like this:

Anyway Notches made lots of trips to the flowers to pick up two peanuts at a time then ran off to hide them somewhere. Makes sense that they don't hide food in their nests because other animals can smell it so easily and they probably don't want company. 

The other squirrels stuck to out laying areas. 

Not sure why this was necessary but the birds weren't home today anyway. 

Well except this fella. 

A Cooper's hawk I think. 

The squirrels didn't alarm over him hanging around but I got up and walked around till he left. 

After I took pictures of course. 

A different silhouetted hunter was hanging around the new territory I'm interested in over by the big gazebo.  

This not so mighty hunter was just happy about the warm weather. 

And wasn't afraid to express his joy. 

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