An inch or two of heavy snow greeted us the morning before Memorial Day, the traditional start of summer. By noon most of it was gone, replaced by a porcupine munching happily on some of our “wildflowers”. First time we had ever seen one in our yard. Normally it is deer or sometimes red fox or bear. I took some photos while trying to keep our tiny, but foolishly brave, cat from chasing it. It ducked under a large conifer shown here earlier in the day.
I let it be, deciding it would be better to not pursue it too closely or reach under the tree to see what I might find there.
At 3:20 that afternoon I happened to look out and saw that it had returned. Must really like the leaves. So, why not. I went out, after making sure the cat was inside, and took some more photos while Jann watched from the window. Soon it again ducked under the conifer. As I headed back toward our house Jann rapped on the window and pointed at the yard. Porky was again visible. I figured I had documented it well, but partly because I believe one can always get a better photo and partly because of Jann’s silent encouragement, I headed back toward the porcupine. As I did so it again ducked under the tree. Then I noticed it was not alone. It had a young one hiding there.
Animals are really amazing. She told her baby to stay put while she twice grazed in our yard. Then when I got too close, she told it to follow her into the woods. It did so immediately and soon both were gone. But they didn’t run, porcupines don’t seem to have that ability. I watched them waddle downhill through the woods hoping the quick shots I grabbed caught the baby’s face. I didn’t think they did, so I was pleasantly surprised to see its eye showing in two of my photos. You might be able to see the eye here, even at web quality.
Here are a few more of the photos I took of our unexpected visitors. These guys have impressive claws. And 30,000 or more quills!
