Picture Perfect.

Every season of the year has its own problems when trying to get the red squirrels to pose for the perfect photograph.

June, July and August are my favourite times to photograph the red squirrels on the Underscar Estate. I will get up around 5.30 am and wander around the grounds.

In July 2014 one of these early morning walks proved to be very special to me. I took the photo seen above.This photo was chosen by artist Madeline Harper to create a pastel drawing of this subject.

The pastel drawing was then exhibited in the East Cheshire Hospice Art Fair 2014 at Macclesfield Town Hall in September. The sale of the artwork is a great fundraiser for the hospice.

I was thrilled when we visited the exhibition to see the Underscar Red Squirrel exhibited. It became a treasured moment for me when later Madeline told me the pastel had sold on the first evening.

Quite often in August I use a selection of logs with hazelnuts hidden in the crevices on the Derwent patio. The red squirrels soon discover them and pose perfectly by the logs.

Posing with a beautifully bleached summer tail.

A female posing with a beautiful white bib.

This male shows off his variation of the darker tail.

Thank-you Madeline from taking one of these photos from my blog and producing a pastel for me. It was a lovely surprise moment for me in 2014 when you gave it to me at the Art Exhibition.

Pastel of an Underscar Red Squirrel by Madeline Harper.