I was attacked by a squirrel yesterday.

Okay, maybe “attacked” is too strong a word.

As I was skating by the Supreme Court after lunch, my attention was attracted by a squirrel sitting calmly by the concrete bollards surrounding the Capitol construction area. Thinking to take a few pictures of him with my Pencam, I stopped, sat on the sidewalk, and clicked my tongue. He carefully approached, hungry for tourist-offered snacks, but, as with any wild rodent, suspicious of the tourist. Still, braver than most squirrels, he came right up to the toes of my skates in nervous eagerness. Best of all, he didn’t mind the beeping of my camera as I snapped away.

After I had taken some good shots, and was ready to stand up, a large pigeon suddenly landed behind the squirrel and flapped its wings. The squirrel, startled, leapt away from the noise — straight at me. It landed on my shoulder, and just as quickly, jumped off me and onto a concrete bollard, all before I even realized what was happening.

That had me laughing the rest of the day. By virtue of this rodent’s unprecedented boldness, I have christened him “Supreme Court Attack Squirrel,” and given him the honor of being my first photolog entry. If I see him again, he will be rewarded with glorious quantities of Planters Trail Mix.

(Photos taken with an Aiptek Mini Pencam 1.3MP.)