My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
I’ve been doing a bit of house cleaning; deleting and organizing images on my hard drive. I purchased another and larger hard drive about a month ago. I’ve moved everything over and have it the way I want it. Again, it is enjoyable to look back over images from the past and see where I’ve been and where I’m at now. I found this fellow from 2003 and felt like posting his portrait. He (she) is sure checking me out and looking cute.
I parked my rump on a bench along the foot path in Inniswood Gardens to watch the half dozen squirrels in front of me as they scampered along the forest floor in search of food. This time of year you will find them busy searching for and storing nuts and acorns near their dens for the coming winter months. The carpet of leaves has hidden some of their much needed food so their search for food has the feeling of a game. You can hear the rustling of leaves as they stick their noses under the carpet of leaves in search of their treasure then quickly lift their heads and move to the next location as if to say, “Nope, nothing there. Maybe it’s over here.”
Every so often they seem to be playing a game of tag with one another but I soon realize they are being territorial as they chase one another around. Their work at this time of the year is a necessity and feels hurried, yet they seemed to also be having fun and no one gets hurt. I enjoyed watching.
Catch light or catchlight is a photography term used to describe either the specular highlight in a subject’s eye from a light source, or the light source itself. A catch light may be an artifact of the lighting method, or have been purposely engineered to add a glint or “spark” to a subject’s eye during photography. It is one of the first things I look for in photo, whether it’s a portrait or a small inquisitive squirrel. It adds life to the image and helps us to focus on the eyes. It can be subtle as in the image above or it can be brilliant where there’s even an image inside of the catch light itself. I will admit there are times when I’m disappointed in my shoot for the day because I do not have those catch light and, to me, something is missing.
I’ve never seen an albino squirrel before moving out here to the Ohio Valley. I encountered this one while taking a walk through Inniswood Gardens. Despite periodic complaints about the animal as a pest, general public opinion towards the animal is favorable, thanks to its agreeable appearance, intelligence and its eating styles and habits. They grace our parks and bring smiles to children and me.
Wikipedia search found the following information about the albino squirrel. Olney, Illinois, known as the “White Squirrel Capital of the World,” is home of the world’s largest known albino-squirrel colony. Kenton, Tennessee is home to about 200 albino squirrels. There are also albino squirrels on the main campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Brevard, North Carolina and Marionville, Missouri have a substantial population of white (not albino) squirrels. Western Kentucky University has a locally famous population of white squirrels.