Burdock loves Dangerous Dan

I hadn't seen Burdock at High Scenic in 12 days. When I arrive tonight, I find Burdock and three others out enjoying the late afternoon sun-warmed rocks:

Burdock

 

Dangerous Dan

Little Fuzzy

Red Squirrel

Burdock was very independent. It was a cold evening, so I thought a porcupine lap warmer would be a nice thing, but he would have none of it. He ate just a few biscuits and then waddled off to amuse himself:

Dangerous Dan came over and took a nap nearby:

As darkness grew, Dan fell asleep on a rock facing me, while Burdock waddled off into the woods and climbed up a little hemlock. 

Half an hour later I heard a porcupine's humming greeting coming from the darkness, and hoped that maybe Wee was arriving. The humming continued, and I realized it was coming from Burdock. Dan got up and wandered in the direction of the greeting hums, and I heard Burdock climb out of the tree. I went over to see which of us, Dan or me, the greeting (summons?) was intended for. Burdock waddled over to Dan! They really are friends.

Internet connectivity at High Scenic

With cold nights and mild days, the porcupines have been staying near their dens, but emerge for late afternoon sun. This site offers good internet connection, so I bring my hotspot and computer and set up my office. When I arrived on April 13, Little Fuzzy was just peering from a nook in the rocks, but Big had emerged from the throne room and was sunning himself. I went up to take a portrait.

Little Fuzzy's lair

Porcupine in the sun

When I returned to my seat, I found Quirinus had arrived and, as is the way of porcupines, found the most precarious seat in the house:

Sitting on my hotspot, which is balanced on my iPod, which is sitting on Julia's book. Note: the opening in the rocks behind the big Q is a steep drop-off that ends somewhere in Middle Earth,

and that is where my hotspot went when Quirinus reached for his next apple. Dang! Good thing I have a LifeProof case for my iPod?

Fortunately, with the aid of a long stick and some bad language I was able to retrieve it.

Winter at last!

After the deepest snowfall of the winter, maybe seven inches, I made it up to High Scenic just in time for sunset. Burdock was there to greet me and have a few snowy portraits taken.

Here you see his distinctive skirt of long white quills against his fuzzy blackness.

Snow!

Notice his porcupine perch here.

He then went into his den to nap and digest, as porcupines will do after a feed. Little Fuzzy came out and ate on the upper level. I then heard what sounded like humming coming from inside the rock in front of me, and thought that Burdock had a corridor from his lower den up to this place. When Dangerous Dan came up around the corner from behind the rock, I realized that he was the one who had been humming, a charming porcupine greeting.

Little Fuzzy retreated to her den when Dan approached, but soon came out, and started inching toward Dan, nose extended.

The two were soon nose to nose, making not very serious squawks. When they heard the footsteps of a human crunching quickly past on the trail in the valley, both porcupines retreated to their dens in alarm. I was pleased to see that my presence here has not made them less wary of possible danger.

Dan soon came out again, and this time came over to eat the acorns in front of me. He was soon joined by Big East, and the two were reasonably companionable.

Big on left, Dan on right