Saturday, October 18, 2014

Day 7, Kay: This year the squirrels are lazy as town dogs, and I love them for it

When my family moved to town from the farm, and our mother wanted to chide us for any less-than-industrious behavior, she’d say, “You’ve gotten lazy as town dogs.” Apparently country canines had more pressing responsibilities.

As a working writer, I find my inspiration often comes from—in addition to childhood nostalgia—looking out the window and seeing what is transpiring in my own backyard.

I have seen next to no squirrels this year. Let me be perfectly clear, this is not due to increased hunting stealth of our two felines who share a sense of simpatico with town dogs.

Legend has it that you can forecast how harsh the winter will be by the gathering habits of the squirrels.

Snowflake takes it easy
In 2010 squirrels started collecting pecans from the trees near me in April, as soon as small green fruit would appear on the tree. The winter of 2010 had its last snow May 1, 2011. That was the year that Snowflake, the all-white stray cat, swam in snow across the street to greet me, and ultimately took up residence here awhile.

This year we have plenty of pecans on the trees, and I haven’t even seen the telltale green husks and half-eaten nuts strewn on the deck.

The squirrels are slackers, and I am thrilled. I am no fan of the harsh, cold days of winters with slick and treacherous surfaces.

When it comes to battling winter, I am a town dog.

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