Ermine/Stoat

D500,500mm, 1/2500, f/5.6,ISO 3200

I wish I had a better shout of this little character. Mostly I want to tell a story. She/he has been hanging around our property for almost a year now- living, I think, in a stone wall near  a studio a bit away from the house. When this was taken, there was no snow, so it ran from place to place trying to be inconspicuous. We have a little snow now, perhaps about to disappear in recent rains. Strange winter.
But the real story is that today I drove away, about 4-5 miles from my house, and while I was driving, up pops this frantic little guy running back and forth in front of my windshield in the hollow where the wipers rest! I was so astonished. I wanted to turn around and take it home, but the little guy bravely jumped off the moving car , landed gracefully onto the pavement and into the woods. I was sorry to see it go, but hope it survives in it's new habitat. I will miss seeing it running around here.