NUTS!

One of the fun things about being on campus these past few days has been observing the wild creatures in their native habitat. We have plenty of squirrels at Penn State, and they are getting quite active this time of year. Heck, we even a "squirrel whisperer," whom I met last year while we were both enjoying some quality squirrel time among some big trees below Old Main. (She also has a Facebook page. Check it out.)

On this particular morning, I had walked through the Nittany Lion Inn and was headed toward our famous lion shrine, when a squirrel came at me brandishing a nut. It looked awfully pleased with its nut, in fact! It skittered across the path in front of me, then headed RIGHT TOWARD MY FOOT! (Is this a trend? Last week, I was nearly mowed over by a SHREW! Oh, the horror!)

And then, the squirrel took another look at me and decided that I was Absolutely Not To Be Trusted. And so it was that it ran back across the path with all due speed. And then it disappeared into the shrubbery, where I saw it making neat "burying" motions to dig a hole in which to place this marvelous nut!

Now, I admit that I am at a loss for songs about squirrels and nuts. But I did find this one fun suggestion: try replacing the word GIRL with the word SQUIRREL in some of your favorite songs, and see how things turn out. So here is Tom Petty, with Here Comes My Squirrel! (OK, you have to use your imagination a bit to get the Squirrel in there. But let's give it a try.)

P.S. In other important news, the wood frog that we rescued last week from under the mower has shown up in the front watering station, doing the backstroke! The temperatures have been awfully high lately, even into the 90s F, and I think he (she?) is just trying to cool down. The swimming pool, to be fair, is just a blue frisbee filled with fresh water that sits beneath a small, plastic yard table.

But for a frog . . . to have its own private swimming pool? It's sure living the life of Riley. And so it is that the wood frog has found its name - Hello, Riley! You can see Riley, aka the Lol-Frog-Burglar, enjoying a refreshing dip in his/her private pool in the extra photos area.  :-)