This silly-looking squirrel with a short, brushy tail has something in her mouth—a nut from last fall, maybe? Treasure! After posing for my camera, she dashed down the tree and across the street.

My real quarry was not the squirrel but a resident hummingbird. I spotted him sipping at the cigar plant (Cuphea ignea) for half a minute, and then he moved into the vitex for a rest break. Perching nervously on a low branch, he scoped out some carefree sparrows twittering on the fence. In an instant he was after one of them, harassing the larger bird right down the street. The hummer came back a few minutes later and hovered in front of me as I lurked behind the glass storm door. He must have seen his reflection in the glass and was no doubt contemplating an attack, but just then I moved my camera and frightened him away.

An elusive quarry. I’ll try again another day.