Friday 6 February 2015

Northern Flying Squirrel


    I didn’t know anything about flying squirrels.  The only flying squirrel that I knew about was Rocky the Flying Squirrel from the cartoon show of my youth, but one winter’s night I happened to be outside near by the peanut butter log which I used to feed the birds, and I noticed that it was swinging back and forth.  I found this curious since there was no wind and no apparent reason for the movement.  Then I saw the cause, there was a squirrel on it.  I didn’t think it was one of our regular squirrels because they don’t come out in the night.
    This squirrel was bigger in size at a large fluffy tail, and enormous eyes--it was a flying squirrel.  I didn’t know we had them around the Robson Valley, but there it was.  I rushed in to get my video camera, which I set to “Night Vision” and took these photos.  All that happened back in 1999.  
    I hadn’t really noticed any flying squirrels since then, probably because I don’t spend too much time walking around outside on winter nights.  A few nights ago I happened to look out the window and saw the peanut log swinging again.  The flying squirrel leaped to the birch tree and was gone before I could take any pictures, but I was happy to know that they are still around.


View my paintings at:  www.davidmarchant.ca

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