Friday, October 06, 2006

Crunchy Cuisine

We've had, for some time now, a little rock squirrel living just over our back wall. The kids have dubbed him "Mr. Squirrel", and once in a while, we'll see him hop into our yard and dash furtively from bush to bush. He's cute, but shy. He won't come down from the wall if there is so much as a bird nearby! Yesterday, Dylan had the idea to put some of the seed and nuts remaining from our birdfeeders into a dish for Mr. Squirrel. All day long we'd peer expectantly out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of our little friend, and finally, he appeared: at precisely the same time that one of our pet turtles meandered over to investigate what was in the dish. It was quite the funny sight, actually! One lazy turtle, taking his sweet time, poking his weathered, wrinkly neck out to sample the new treat...and one eager squirrel, nervously darting back and forth across the top of the wall, all the while eyeing the bounty below. He finally gave up, much to our disappointment. We were all really rooting for him!

Today was so busy that I hardly gave him a second thought. Late this afternoon, though, as I stood at the kitchen counter pouring some drinks for the kids, I caught a flash of movement out in the yard. "Hey, guys!" I said in a loud whisper. "Come see!"

There sat Mr. Squirrel, munching happily until he'd had his fill. Then, with a few quick moves, he scampered back up onto the wall, perched for a moment to peer around, and was gone.


2 comments:

Celeste Creates said...

We have 2 squirrels that we feed. We entice them to the patio with peanuts and dried corn. Ours aren't nearly so shy. If there is only one squirrel visiting then that one is NutBurier. If there are two squirrels in the yard, then the second one (whichever that one is) is Acornetta. Go figure! The kids love to watch them and feed them. It's getting about that time we'll see much more of them.

He who wears the most black wins. said...

We have some quail. We are SO boring.

How cool for the kiddos to see Mr. Squirrel!!