Squirrel Feeding

(Toledo, OH) I recently learned the art of squirrel feeding from my next-door neighbor, an eighty-something man who is a veritable font of practical knowledge. Some of the squirrels near my home, like this seasonally-emaciated Eastern gray squirrel, will now walk right up to me and take a peanut from my hand.

This squirrel typically takes the proffered nut and moves about ten feet away from me to eat it, keeping an eye on me as it sits on its haunches and opens the shells.

If I were a squirrel, I would probably do the same.