Looking at Them Looking at Us

This week, for the Lens-Artists Challenge, Donna asks us to look for the connections we make in our lives. I’m going short and fairly light-hearted by looking at some of our connections with animal life. That feature photo, for instance, shows two children delighted by their squirrel companion in Málaga, while he is equally pleased about the free sunflower seeds.

Less pleased are these birds: an Arctic tern and a greylag goose. Both are warning me – or any other pesky human in the area – to leave well alone as far as their young chicks or goslings are concerned.

All my other images come from Down at the Farm.

Here are three curious creatures – two pigs and a cow – wanting to know if those human have anything to offer …

… while this small boy is pleased that the cow is willing to accept a mouthful of hay from him.

We have sheep living next door. Unusually, they’re rather fond of human company, and canter across to the fence hopefully whenever they see me pass. It’s all Cupboard Love of course, but I’m daft enough to fall for it and try to have a few cabbage stalks or something about my person to give to them.

And here’s a young girl desperately trying to make a friend of a hen. Who isn’t quite so sure.

For my last image, we’ll leave the farmyard in favour of the deer park at Studley Royal. The deer are as likely to be watching us as we are them. You can never quite trust humans, they think.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

50 thoughts on “Looking at Them Looking at Us”

  5. Margaret, this is a great and humorous look at our connections with wildlife. I liked all photos, but especially loved the final image and what you wrote there. Yes, deer probably hear stories about humans trying to feed them only to shoot at them. Terrible humans, indeed.

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    1. Indeed. We’re in prime shooting country here. At Studley they are culled. Sadly, that seems inevitable. They have no predators, and would soon become an unviably huge population. Shooting as a sport doesn’t happen though. Birds are a different matter. Huge numbers of pheasant eggs and young are imported every year for the ‘sport’ of indifferent marksmen, who pay huge amounts for the ‘privilege’. Though some find their way to local butchers, most are discarded. A wasted life.

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      1. The same goes here in Texas state parks. They close some parks in late fall and open them only for hunters. It’s a way to “control” the deer population.

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  7. A great, great, lovingly, sweet take on, Margaret! Love your critters and laughed at the girl trying to make friends with the hen. Oh, I know…my grandmother had hens and I have tried that…

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  15. This was wonderful. You certainly are a welcome visitor for most animals. The birds? Funny. They might come around, but who’s waiting. All of this was very different for the response. And I laughed at the girls trying to befriend the chicken. Outstanding Margaret.

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