Squirrel Nuggets

Inspirational song: Let 'em In (Paul McCartney)

If only we were faster with a camera.

In the recent past, I've mentioned our "trained" squirrel. He/she (I tend to think she) is brave. She comes up between the dogs to the back steps, and looks in the sliding glass door, unafraid of the cat faces staring back at her with murder in their eyes. She stands on her hind legs when one of us humans appears, and it sure looks like her paws are in a supplicant's pose. She has even been known to accept treats from a crack in the door (open only two inches, so that Harvey stays on the warm side of it.)

Mr S-P and neighbor T brewed a beer with ground hazelnuts that were pulled out of the wort and reserved after the boil. The Mr baked a couple of batches of hard tack from them, to set out for the squirrels (in general, not just our brave warrior). They usually get put inside the wire cages (heavier than tomato cages, good for peonies and roses) that we keep around the birdfeeders so the dogs don't graze on dropped seeds. The squirrels can sit safely inside the perimeter and eat them.

This morning, we were laughing at Elsa's desperation to poke her nose in through the cage, to steal the squirrel nuggets. She couldn't get them. Mr S-P took a video and sent it to me and the kids in a message. While I was giggling over that, I looked up through the front window. Hanging on the brick next to my house numbers, at about five and a half feet off the top step of the porch, was my brave little squirrel. I sucked in a breath and held it, as if she could hear me, as if it would have scared her anyway. But unfortunately, before I could get my phone awake (it runs slowly these days), both boys came running up out of nowhere, climbing into the windowsill, knocking plants over, scaring off the beggar.

I had never seen her in the front of the house before. Now I'm worried about her. She's brave enough to be foolhardy. Tell me she's smart enough to stay out of the road? I live on a very busy street. I know the dogs were rude to her this morning, going after what was supposed to be her breakfast. I would much prefer she stays in the back yard, dogs or no.