I was trying to get a picture of one squirrel in a tree when another little fuzzball shot by my viewfinder with what looked like a tennis ball in his mouth….
Wait, WHAT!?!?
I quickly pivoted to getting a photo of that squirrel, and was very lucky to get even this one 
picture of him before he disappeared high up into the tree. How in the world is that squirrel even carrying something so much larger than its mouth, and all the while darting up a tree with it? It amazed me then, and still amazes me when I look at this shot eight years later! In the original Saturday Squirrel post, Phenny compared it to trying to carry a six pack of beer up a tree, which made me laugh….
As for the item in that squirrel’s mouth, I was informed in that same post by Jenn’s Big Guy that it’s a walnut. I’d seen these green balls on the ground at the park before, but never would have guessed what they were because I didn’t know walnuts grew inside very hard green shells!
This guy’s oral feat of Herculanean strength gets him the honor of being my 23rd favorite Saturday Squirrel of all time!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
Garth manages to drag around dog toys that are every big as he is, sometimes bigger. I recommend not making eye contact though – he likes an audience and it only encourages him.
If he dragged those large toys up a tree, I’ll bet he’d get a huge audience!
He manages to drag Goat Boy, who is easily twice his size, up onto the bed, so…
That’s a walnut? Wow…
Yep! The walnut we recognize is inside that green shell…
Astounding, but clearly determined!
Much more determined than I’d be to carry something that large in my mouth while climbing a tree!
Originally I thought that squirrel must be very hungry to go to such trouble since I presumed a green walnut wasn’t ripe. Then I learned the first and main sign of a ripe walnut is the cracked green pericarp. Who knew?
Google sends a lot of people who don’t know what those green balls are to a 2017 post I did about them. I only learned myself what a pre-grocery store walnut looks like after taking this picture and having a commenter point it out…
After all that effort he’s going to be well annoyed when he gets home and discovers his dinner really is a tennis ball…
Well, at least he’ll get plenty of fiber. And may poop green…
Well it’s either “roasted walnut” or “sauteed tennis ball” on the menu tonight!
Pam
Kind of like some sketchy Chinese buffets you’ll find on the Shelf…