One of the many

I clearly have a squirrel problem.  They are all over the place.  It's funny, because they are essentially arboreal rats with fur instead of hair.  That's all the difference it takes for these things to be hand-fed by various neighbors who must think they are "helping" the poor starving animals.  Well, my immediate neighborhood has a healthy supply of overweight squirrels that like to bury everything from bread to pieces of fruit in my lawn, creating a war zone in the process.  The squirrel in this photo was in the apple tree in the backyard.  Look how rotund it is.  This is one of scores of squirrels that have literally infested the area.  They are by far the most ubiquitous animal around here.  Since all natural predators (with the exception of the occasional hawk) have been eradicated from the area, these little punks are carefree and have been wreaking havoc everywhere.  And the noise they make when they see a dog or cat...it is the most annoying sound in the world.  They'll sit up in the tree, or atop the light pole, and kind of make this mini growling noise.  It can go on for an hour or more.  Kind of makes me wish the periodical cicadas were in full force to at least drown these guys out.