The area around Negro Bar State Park is practically teeming with these little guys; they especially like to hang around the picnic areas, scavenging leftover scraps of food. I normally don’t pay too much attention to them, but they do make good practice subjects for wildlife photography. They’re extremely shy and very fast runners, disappearing into their burrows, into the weeds, or even up trees at the first hint of danger. They also have a fairly ear-splitting warning call!

Gathering up some cottonwood fluff

Contemplating the hassle of weekend crowds versus the payoff in leftovers…