I have but one batch of photos left, and I’ll save them. But if you have some, be sure to send them in. In lieur of wildlife photos, I’ll substitute two items of local interest.
First, two pictures of consorting with my squirrels at Botany Pond. Since I’m oten there feeding or tending ducks, the resident squirrels (there are three) have sussed me out as a source of food. And, sure enough, I have bought good stuff to give them: walnuts in the shell, shelled almonds, and roasted but unsalted peanuts (I have to worry about their blood pressure).
Over a few months I have tamed them, starting with introducing them to walnuts (there’s nothing like seeing a squirrel’s first encounter with a walnut!), and then gradually allowing them to get closer. Finally, I’ve trained them to crawl up my body to get a nut or eat from my hand when I’m sititng down, as in the photos below. Having been severely bitten by a baby squirrel years ago, I proceeded very gradually, rebuking them when they gently nibbled my fingers. These photos are the result of several months of labor.
Now we are friends, and for the first time this week one of them allowed me to pet her. (She’s a lactating female.) When I was feeding her, a kind lady sitting on the facing bench took photos, and asked me if I wanted them. Of course I said yes, and here are two. In the first, the squirrel (unnamed) crawls onto my shoulder, and in the second I am petting a squirrel while she gets a nut.
Yes, I know it’s weird; you don’t have to tell me.
Madame Squirrel gets a peanut:
They have very soft fur:
Last night I was woken up at 1:40 in the morning, but didn’t know why, as I was sleeping well. Then I saw lights flashing on and off in my crib, like lights on a fire engine or police car. They were very regular, and so I prowled around to find the source. It took me a while to realize that they weren’t in my place, but coming from the outside. I went out on the balcony (just the landing of a fire escape) and saw repeated and semi-regular flashing behind the clouds. It must have been lightning, but there was no thunder.
I groggily found my iPhone and filmed some of the atmospheric fracas, which went on for a long time. Here is a bit over a minute of it, which I posted on YouTube (it briefly goes out of focus). The sound is on, but you won’t hear thunder.
It was cloudy, so you can’t see the lights of downtown.
Looking for “lightning, June 6” on the Internet, I found one video taken near downtown Chicago. Here you can see the lightning. The poster describes it as an “epic lightening storm”: There’s also a video similar to mine on reddit.
From Facebook:
It was quite a storm, but the rain has abated, so graduation this morning will be cloudy but dry.
A delightful post to find in the morning. Re the storm video — maybe no thunder but I could hear a Northern Cardinal at ~32 seconds. Living in Oregon now, I miss the song.