Stuff for Pappy to Chase

Among the fauna for Pappy to chase here in Deer Isle, the most appealing is probably the red squirrel. These guys are smaller than their grey brethren to the south, built more on a chipmunk scale. And, where the squirrels I know are silent as Pappy chases them up the trees in the back yard, these guys are incredibly noisy. They chatter away constantly, sounding more like the birds from a jungle cartoon than rodents. These guys aren't as good sport as grey squirrels since they seldom leave the safety of tree branches.

Pappy's also taken some notice of the crows, but we haven't had as many seagulls hanging around the beach as in past years. A pretty regular occurance is for a dog to tear off into the bushes and come back looking a little sad after getting shot by a skunk. My aunt's dachshund got sprayed earlier in the summer, so she keeps a ready supply of deskunking shampoo. Sea birds are pretty safe from Pappy's attention, but we have deer, foxes, and tons of mice. Yesterday I saw a reddish long bodied rodent wandering across the seaweed carrying a crab, but Pappy was oblivious. I'd never seen its like before in my billions of summers. Too bushy-tailed for an otter. Maybe a stoat?