Monday, April 19, 2010

Squirrel Watching

I came home from work today to find a squirrel on my balcony. This is not unusual; my balcony is a hot spot for squirrels. What surprised me was that my squirrel friend wasn't moving.

This is not an account of a dead squirrel, rather it's an account of a still squirrel. I've searched the recesses of my mind but I can't ever remember watching a still squirrel. Oh sure, I've seen a squirrel suddenly freeze hoping that I didn't see him, but he's on alert and vibrating.

My squirrel friend today was lounging on my balcony railing. Sprawled, actually - as much as he could sprawl on a narrow railing. I opened my sliding door to let the air in and his head rolled toward me. As the second door opened he moved so he faced the other way on the railing and went back to lounging.

I sat on my red couch and watched him. Couldn't he have found a more comfortable place for a rest stop? His eyes were open, weren't they? As I studied him I began to worry that maybe he was injured and unable to move quickly. I decided that I better keep watching.

Eventually my squirrel friend got up, strolled along the railing over to the wall and after pausing, leaped onto the brick, scaling the building away from my balcony.

If I come home tomorrow to see a squirrel on my balcony wearing a leather jacket and shades, I won't be surprised. He was the coolest squirrel I've ever seen.

1 comment:

  1. I saw my first squirrel of the season about a month ago. He was walking on a median in the middle of road near a traffic light on the left side of the car.

    I watched as he started to cross in front of a truck that was stopped at the light. The next thing the little squirrel noticed, is that the truck had started to move. Quickly the little guy, realizing that he might get run over, went back to the curb, and proceeded along the curb towards me. As he approached I was thinking I sure hope he doesn't decide to cross in front of me. Soon, he came so close that I could no longer see him as he was right beside my car. Blindly, I continued moving forward, until I heard thump, thump. I looked back in the mirror, and noticed that the squirrel was now still...

    That was the end of my first squirrel of the season. He like yours was also still in the end, but far less cool.

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