Thursday, January 3, 2008

Nuts!



"A squirrel leaping from bough to bough, and making the wood but one wide tree for his pleasure, fills the eye not less than a lion,—is beautiful, self-sufficing, and stands then and there for nature."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I wonder, is that where the expression "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" came from?

17 comments:

Nikon said...

Beautiful shot, Isabella.
Bright-eyed & bushy-tailed, those were the days :-)

Janet said...

Great shot! I believe he posed just for your camera.

rauf said...

We humans are the only nuts who have alienated from nature

Wayne said...

What's not to like about a picture of a squirrel? NOTHING! :D

Olivier said...

il n'y a donc pas que des alligators dans ta ville ;o)) un beau portrait , il semble très curieux de la photographe


It is therefore not that alligators in your town ;o)) a beautiful portrait, it seems very curious about the photographer

Peter said...

You are certainly right! I think I have even heard it as "... bushy-tailed like a squirrel".

Anonymous said...

That is a true "Southern" squirrel. You can tell because our squirrels have their winter fur on and they have put on fat, lots of fat, for their survival and they look like fuzzy miniature pigs with bushy tails. This is a nice photo. I like it and the background leaves.

Gwen said...

Cute squirrel photograph, Isabella, a nice Emerson quote.

Gwen said...

It was cold yesterday--a little--on the boardwalk but gorgeous weather and people were out in shorts.And the color of the water was amazing:)

Anonymous said...

"Nuts!, oh my, where are you, I know I left you somewhere around here, oh my.."

Isabella, I'm glad your name is not Alice...

Marie said...

Ah ah the squirrel looks as if it were posing for you :-))

Kate said...

Yes, he is bright-eyed and certainly bushy-tailed. Is this photo from Michigan? I don't recall seeing squirrels in Fl, but then again--what do I know!!

Jilly said...

Well I thought I'd landed on Abraham's page! I love this photograph - what an expression in this gorgeous squirrel's eye. Good shot!

There are several suggestions as to the origins of 'bright-eyed and bushy tailed' - if you do an Internet search. Some talk about it referring to a cat, but I find none giving a definitive answer. Dates range from the 1585 to the 1800s.

JaamZIN said...

bushy-tailed is an expression I never heard. What does it mean?:)

isa said...

Zsolt - "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" describes a person who is alert, eager, ready to take on the world...Something I have not been since my college graduation ;-)

Ming the Merciless said...

Perfectly captured! I absolutely love this photo.

Bright eye and bushy tailed indeed.

Gerald (SK14) said...

ee it looks just like the tree-rats in our back garden - nobody managed to guess my last quiz pic of a squirrel's tail - I'm doing a quiz pic on Sunday so do stop by then - pre-clue - it isn't a squirrel!