Thursday, September 4, 2008

SFM ISO Apartment

Single, furry male in search of an apartment...

When I was out on Capitol Hill taking pictures the other morning, this little guy took an interest in me and my camera and did a great job of posing. In truth, I think he was hoping for a handout. When he/she/it (how do you tell?) figured out I had nothing yummy to pass along, he continued on his merry way up the tree.

I love squirrels, but I know there are some folks who have developed a hate-hate relationship with them for various, valid reasons. Squirrels can be quite destructive. On Saturday I hung out with a friend who recently dealt with squirrels in her attic. Despite her annoyance with the situation, she managed to regale us with her story and we all had a very good laugh about the whole squirrel-in-the-attic debacle.

Yesterday, I sent her an email with this picture and the following text:

S:

I ran into this guy on Capitol Hill on Sunday. He says he’s in search of a new apartment living situation. I hear you have a recently vacated attic available. Let me know if you’re interested in a renter. I’ve attached a picture. He seemed like a sweet guy and said his hobbies, while low key, include things like late night tap dancing, people watching, and home renovation. He also mentioned something about nesting, which makes me think he might be looking to settle down, but you never can tell with guys these days! I gave him your number. No need to thank me! I live to serve and look out for my dear friends.

J

I haven't heard back from my friend. Hope that's not a bad thing...

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 08/08

12 comments:

Virginia said...

Count me among the curdmudgeons that aren't having a love affair with Sammy the Destructive Little Squirrel. Squirrels in the attic are something else. Pray your furry little friend didn't follow you home. I will say I liked your note to your friend!HA

Rob said...

LOL, Cute little guy!

Yes the love/hate, love/love, or hate/hate squirrel relationships. Always they raid my bird feeding station. I resorted to red pepper flakes in the seed. Gave a few of them hot mouth and ran for the bird bath. In the end, they won over....as usual.

Clever little buggers; they are always outsmarting us. Half the fun of the battle is matching our wits with this little 2 pound critter. It's an ongoing game of wits and who will give up first.

How do we tell is the squirrel is Samuel or Samantha? Goodness knows I ain't gonna' look!

Anonymous said...

How lucky, yours posed so beautifully and without a handout. Mine didn't give me very long to take my shot and that was after a great handout.
Love the note.

marley said...

Thats funny! Someone i work with had squirrels where he lived so he caught them in a humane trap. He decided to let them out where we work as its out in the sticks. A few weeks later our bosses home phone and internet stopped working. He lives on the site and guess what had moved into his attic? That squirrel did some serious damage to all his stored things. We laughed. He didn't!

You won the Name The Cat Competition! Rupert was the name of a ginger cat i had when I was a kid. Thanks for bringing back a nice memory :)

Janet Kincaid said...

VJ: The world seems equally divided when it comes to these little guys. As for the friend... Still waiting to hear from her...


Rob: Isn't s/he, though? I liked the pictures you had on your blog the other day, too! As for the one in my picture, let's just name it Samanthuel and call it the androgynous squirrel. That way, we don't have to go peekin' fur proper parts. LOL!!


Mo: I followed Nic of London Daily Nature Photo's advice and moved really slowly. This is the only time it's worked for me. Of course, I think squirrels on the Capitol grounds are more accustomed to human interaction and probably manage a lot more handouts than squirrels in my corner of town! Cheeky little buggers!


Marley: That is too funny about your boss! I would have laughed. Of course, knowing my luck, it would have been a wretched boss and I would have laughed out of sheer karmic vengeance. Not very kind am I? And hey, I'm thrilled to know I won the cat naming contest! Yeah! Here's to Rupert and your good memories!

Maya said...

You crack me up! And, he is quite a good model too.

pusa said...

hahaha very nice story and great capture too! i cant really relate how bad/good they are because we dont have squirrels running around in our city

mouse (aka kimy) said...

I have a total weakness for squirrels and find myself snapping pics of squirrels so often, I know people think I'm nuts (there are moments I even think so) ... you might get a chuckle out of the tuesday's post on mousemedicine. I do find myself posting a few squirrel portraits....

love the email you sent your bud!

Janet Kincaid said...

Maya: Isn't he, though? I managed to get three good shots of him (I should post the other two to Standing Room Only) before he decided I wasn't going to ante up and he unceremoniously dismissed me from his life!


Pusa: Think rats, but with bushy tails and cuter. (They're part of the same family.)


Kimy: I'll be sure to check out your post. Squirrels are a lot of fun to watch and try to photograph. They're generally in constant motion which means, I have a lot of photos where all you see is a blur! LOL!

Jane Hards Photography said...

I miss squirrels we don't have them on the island. Back in the uk they were so cheeky.

Lucky Dip Lisa said...

Awwww....well I love them. I love pukeko'and mallards too though and they have more than there fair share of critics!
please tell squirrel that if he can pass through customs he can do his OE here in Tauranga!

Janet Kincaid said...

Babooshka: And yet, I'll bet you have rats, right? Why can't squirrels be the rodent to stowaway on ships, rather than their less desirable relative the rat? It's so unfair.


Lisa: The next time I see this guy, I'll be sure to tell him someone in Tauranga would love to have him! LOL!