A visitor

We were doing some housework the other day when my cat made a mad dash for the patio doors. I thought Jello was after a squirrel or a dog, but here was a pine marten on my deck. He didn't seem to care about my cat. By the time I got my camera he was gone. This was our second visit of a pine marten, the first being in February.

Yesterday, he came back, and this time, spent a lot of time scampering about my yard. They move fast, don't stay still long, and like to hide, so he was tough to photograph, but you'll get the idea.

On my deck. Not blurry 

On my fence. Blurry 

Staring at me. Blurry 

Running across my yard. Blurry. 

On my driveway. Not blurry, but partially obscured. 

Running up my driveway. Blurry.

I'm really not a fan of autofocus cameras.

My neighbour was outside when Mr. Marten was running around, so he sicked his dog on him. My neighbour isn't a fan of pine martens. They chase his chickens, break into the pen and eat them. They get into attics and make a mess (we found pine marten poo in our attic when we took the kitchen apart. He ate squirrels in there). So my neighbour likes to live trap martens and release them elsewhere in the valley.

Chased by a barking dog, Mr. Marten raced up a tree in my yard, ran around up in the trees for a few minutes, then bolted the other direction into my other neighbour's yard, straight under the deck. Looks like he's living there, which is probably fine, though now that they know about it, my new neighbours are worried and probably want him gone.

Personally, I like them. As long as they stay out of my house.