(Here are other pictures of Edison, posted on my photography page:
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I decided to post the first one here, because the lil' guy is just TOO CUTE not to share with all of you!! )

Here is the story of Edison the Ermine.

I went out on a photography hunt today with my hubby :iconstewdog: and our best friend :icondarkstar74:, to a place that is chock full of old abandoned farmhouses.

We were at our second farmhouse of the day, so far out in the middle of a wheatfield that we had to walk at least a quarter of a mile across fresh tilled dirt to get to it. I had wandered around the front of the house, and was taking a picture of something there... when I happened to glance up to a pile of old house framing on a little hill about thirty feet away. There, standing perfectly straight on his little back feet on the top of the wood pile, was this adorable creature staring right at me.

Of course, I was totally thrilled at having seen an unexpected critter like this! I made my way over to where I had seen him, really not expecting to be given a chance to catch a photo. I figured he would have skittered away into whatever burrow he had, to bide his time until these big giants left his otherwise quiet domain.

So I'm standing there fiddling with my camera, when suddenly he pokes his head out from behind one of the wooden beams, about two feet away from me. We stand there staring at eachother, this little weasel and I, and I can't help but laugh a little. He is as curious about me, as I am of him! And somehow I have the werewithal to start taking pictures.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, he litterally climbs all around that pile of old lumber, spying on me from every angle imaginable. At one point he walked bravely up to the very end of one of the beams, so close I could have reached out and touched him. He checked me out...and then with a little hop and turn, hunkered back into the weeds. Soon, I saw him rooting around, grab a mouthful of feathers that were strewn through the grass, and head back to one end of the lumber pile. He (or she...since I really don't know) was making a nest!

So I sat on the ground nearby, and talked softly to "Edison" while I continued to be spied on in intervals. I even managed to get a little video clip as well, since I actually had both of my cameras slung around my neck.

After a bit, ~Stewdog and ~DarkstaR74 joined me, and we watched Edison as he darted through the grass towards the old abandoned house. In a few moments, he appeared on a little pile of rocks near the front door. He stood up, stared at us for a few seconds, and then disappeared, not to be seen again.

And I came home with a whole bunch of pictures that make me grin every time I look at them.