Don’t bogart the stick, dude!
Yesterday I uploaded my most recent batch of squirrel pics which I took during my week 
off at the end of May, and I came across this amazing picture of one of my backyard critters who was just screaming to be featured as a Saturday Squirrel. What in the world is that squirrel doing with that stick? Does he think he’s Louis Armstrong? Jethro Tull? Or maybe even Willie Nelson?
It is impossible for me to look at this picture and not think that the third option if probably correct. I mean, it does look like he’s preparing to puff on one of those apparatuses used for the smoking of marijuana (not that I would know anything about those apparatuses). Heck, that might just be a big ol’ blunt he’s holding that perhaps one of my less reputable neighbors casually dropped while trespassing in my yard.
Who are you calling “less reputable”?
Nah, it’s just a plain old stick. In fact here’s the following picture I took of him…
Hmmm, I suddenly have the munchies!
Lame drug references aside, when I decided to use this picture for this week’s SS feature, it got me to thinking about how there aren’t very many animal species out there who have good grabbing skills. While squirrels do not have opposable thumbs like we humans do, most squirrels have a vestigal thumb, and they have figured out how to use their digits to pick up and grab things that many other animals with standard paws just aren’t able to do. They have developed the ability to pick up food, hold it as they nibble and chew at it, and of course it also allows them to throw things…
Incoming!
Or…. well, toke on them….
I am one mellow squirrel!
Have a groovy weekend!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I would totally puff puff pass with that squirrel….
Nothing brings the species together like a little Mary Jane….
I puffed with a magic dragon once, he had an awesome condo by the sea…
Peter, Paul and Merby?
Yeah, you are welcome to join us anytime.. 😉
OK, but I won’t inhale!
You don’t have to inhale, no peer pressure…
and while other animals appear to like sticks, they just don’t have those mad squirrelly skillz – to wit, a picture my friend took of her cat’s recent “present to her:
Oh my… that looks like a tragic game of fetch!
Couldn’t help but think of ‘Don’t Bogart That Joint’. I have it by ‘Little Feat’ but I’m sure your squirrel friend would enjoy ‘Country Joe and the Fish’ version – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGJvzwKqg0
I think I’ve heard the Country Joe & the Fish version before. The 60’s look like they were a swinging time….
I swear when I saw your squirrel I thought he was a “dowser” like my Grandfather.
Or maybe I just spent too much time in the outback as a little tacker! 🙂
http://www.dowsingaustralia.com/index.htm
HA! I was not familiar with that term, but know of the practice of divining for water. Oddly enough, about 6 hours after I took that picture, we had a huge storm with lots of rain come through. The next picture I have after the squirrel with a stick series is a pic of my street flooded, so he wouldn’t need to search for water for a while….
Hmmm. That squirrel would be in demand over here in some of the dryer areas! 🙂
Ha! I thought about dowsing, too … and I’ve never been to the outback. But S. Texas is plenty dry, and lots of folks used to dowse for water when I was a kid.
Saturday Squirrel is fantastic!!
Ha! I should have opened this one up to interpretation, because I bet I’ve have gotten a bunch of clever answers as to what that squirrel is doing!
Even with my opposable thumbs I drop things all the time.
I think I am all opposable thumbs…