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March 30, 2005
Hiding In Plain View
Flying squirrels are tiny but brave - not to mention adorable....
Last night while I was busily floating around in cyberspace, there was a ruckus outside of the front door. Yes, I said "ruckus". Upon investigation it became apparent that my outdoor kitty was chasing a small animal. They were running around so fast it was difficult to see much and then all of a sudden everything was still.
After the dust settled and the smoke cleared (okay, I'm taking some creative liberties with the setting here - sue me) I studied the scene to try to figure out what Spyro was chasing. Then I saw it. It was this tiny, little, adorable creature with big eyes and a fluffy tail. It had found a great hiding place: right on top of a 2 foot high bush in plain view. But the weird thing was that it was actually somehow camouflaged sitting up there.
The creature was scarcely larger than your average hamster. It had predominantly light brown fur and these really cool stripe markings on its sides. And it was very still. The kitty knew that it was somewhere in the vicinity yet had a bit of trouble spotting it, but when he got close enough he spooked her just enough to cause her to run again. I quickly grabbed Spyro before he had any further opportunities to possibly hurt this cute little thing. I was very amazed how the little animal would just suddenly stop in plain view, and within kitty claw reaching distance, relying solely on its camouflage for protection. I mean I know she had claws as well, but they are so tiny that I'm thinking even those wouldn't be much of a match for full-grown cat claws.
Then I came inside and Googled. A Flying Squirrel!!!!!!! Turns out that the "cool stripe markings" weren't really markings at all, but rather the edge of the squirrel's "wings" all folded up underneath her arm! Neat-O!
*Thank you morningsong.net for the great photo - this is pretty much exactly what I saw which is why I really wanted to use it.
Pearls of "wisdom" by Jamie at March 30, 2005 10:07 AM
Comments
Bah, I don't believe this for a second. Next you'll be telling us that there's dragons flying around the neighborhood. It's very cute indeed, but I thought Spyro had his French tips? Not that it would matter when muscles and teeth are involved.
The next time you say "Then I came inside and Googled" just remember that it was just a few generations ago that people had to do their Googling outside, in a tiny hut about 200 feet from the main house, in the dead of winter, even. Aren't we lucky?
Posted by: Marlon Perkins at March 30, 2005 12:22 PM
It's probably a possum.
Posted by: Henry O. Possum at April 10, 2005 03:54 PM