Squirrel! White squirrel, that is. Really.

So. Terry and I were on our way over to Darling Run on Pine Creek Gorge this morning when we saw this little guy on the road just down the hill from the Aerie.

White squirrel on the road.

I've seen it before--three times in the last three years--but this was a first for Terry. We had driven past and it had jumped up into a tree alongside the road. I turned around in a driveway and got my camera out. I was surprised to see that the squirrel had returned to the road and stayed there as I drove very, very slowly back toward it. Fearing it would bolt if I got too close I stopped about 20 yards away and snapped the photo above through the windshield. With schmutz on the glass and facing into the sun, I wasn't really positive it would come out so well.

Opening the door as quietly as possible, I hoped to get a better picture but the little bugger sensed something was up and went for the nearest big tree--an ash. Well, I walked over anyway and it sat in the fork of the tree giving me the evil eye. I snapped a few more photos--the best is the one below--before giving up and returning to the truck.

White squirrel peeks from an Ash tree.

We've had a totally black squirrel in the Aerie's yard before but it only appeared for one year. This white one--or its offspring--has been around for at least three years. I couldn't clearly see if the eye was pink,dark red or a more normal black. Pink or red would indicate albinism while a black eye would simply be a melanin deficient critter. It looks a bit red in the second photo. Either way, it's pretty cool.