The creature

[F, Calla & Luca]

Today we were having a clear patch before five days of rain, just what we need---sorry Texas but we will send some. I decided to try a few more, okay a hundred perhaps, calendar pictures. The doodles got interested in the base of one of their favorite "maybe we can catch a squirrel"  tree. This is one reason  why taking "simple" calendar pictures is not so simple.

I investigated and found a creature motel. Inquiring snouts were busy at work trying to ferret out the critter. This guy was poking out of a hole, but around the root I saw another hole, perhaps the escape hatch. Vole, mole whatever, any guesses? He was a couple of inches at most I guess.  Needless to say, in my attempt to remove doodles before they had the poor thing, who did not seem frightened,for lunch, and of course to document it for posterity, I hastily changed my camera from sport mode to the wrong setting. But for a change PhotoShop 9 and I made some nifty changes.Why, you can almost make it out! The doodles are on house arrest until I figure out some way to keep them from snacking on the creature. So one little adventure, no decent pictures,  and merely one mosquito bite later here I am. All in all not such a productive session out there in the wilds : )

The tiny creature:

To give some perspective, the hole is about a foot up in the middle crevice with the possible escape route to the left:

Update: I live in northern NJ. Some of you are scaring me to death with foreign critters.

 

[Sue, Lola, Pongo & Hubby]

oh EWWWWWW!!!!!!! Look at those claws!!! It's like a crawfish and a rat came together to create the world's scariest creature under 5lbs. *shivers*

[Adina P]

That is the ugliest creature!  I'm going to have nightmares tonight. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

The good news was that he was very little.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

LOL When I was a kid I would have tried to catch it and put it in a bucket to keep as a pet! Didn't matter how ugly it was! Now a days not so much. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I was the same way Denise! You wouldn't believe the things I called "pets"! I'm sure DH is really glad that I out grew that stage!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

My kids caught everything, including bees to have as temporary pets.  They even had snail races!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Wow! I hope the race track wasn't 1/4 mile!!! LOL!

[F, Calla & Luca]

DK has a way of expanding one's knowledge base. While looking for tree rats I found that the Red-crested Tree Rat, presumed extinct, for 113 years, has reappeared. Thanks to the creature we all know now. I feel so much better now :) But I am happy this creature is not my creature.

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136468143/presumed-extinct-red-creste...

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

F. this is the best news I've had all day!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It does look kind of cute in that photo, but I'm also thinking it looks more like a mole than a vole...it seems to have that pink nose and feet like the mole photo, while the vole in the photo has a darker, furrier nose.

[Becka]

It could be a tree shrew. It would have little sharp teeth like a weasel and a nasty disposition.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Oh, I don't think I need that either. Nope, according to Wikipedia they live in southeast Asia.