Mild Mannered Grey Squirrel

Back in Berkeley, the red squirrels have taken over. Their numbers increase every year. They chase each other across the street, up and down trees and along power lines, coming down just far enough to taunt dogs and even cats who can chase them up trees but never manage to catch them. They dig up bulbs and make other holes in which to bury their acorns. They made a mess of our tiny garden and out pots. The city of Berkeley is trying to figure out how to eradicate them. They are no longer cute. They are a nuisance.

This squirrel appears to be the only one in our large garden. He is completely silent and ignores the birds, although he spends much of his time on the ground and in the herb bed under the bird feeders. He goes about his business, scratching around among the rocks for sunflower seeds alongside a large covey of quail and some doves. Despite his efforts to eat as many seeds as possible, we should have quite a crop of sunflowers this year as the herb bed is full of seedlings.

I took both dogs for a walk this morning and they must be a very good influence on each other, because they were well behaved with only minimally tangled leads. The only way to keep them from ingesting massive amounts of grass is to march them briskly down the middle of the road, one on each side of me….

I treated myself to a facial today, which included massages of my feet, neck and shoulders. Then I hustled down to Tone, the Pilates studio, for a session with Kathy, my trainer, who also worked on my neck. Now I only hope I can keep my head up and my eyes open until bedtime, which may come pretty early tonight!