Instincts

We have lived here for three and a half years and in that entire time I have never seen a Squirrel in our yard. Not that there are not squirrels everywhere else in South Texas, but not in our yard. Do we have the possibility for squirrelage?

Oh Yes, the green belt provides numerous opportunities for fluffy furry tailed visitors to play.

We have had Possum visitors, coral snake visitors, many other dog visitors, and even Mister Peter Rabbit came to visit, but never a squirrel that I have seen at least. Our last visitor was a four foot long snake that left his skin curled up and draped nicely over the wheelbarrow in the shed. Needless to say I didn't get the shovel that day.

I think the reason why we haven't had squirrel visitors is that news of the fate of our visitors has traveled the Green Belt Vine. The Possum met an untimely end with a Weim, Shep, and Lab. The Coral snake was greeted with a snarlingly Shep, then a 20 pounds weight while we rounded up the axe. The nice dogs get to stay and play for a while, but the nasty dogs meet the pack and my BB gun. And sometime the visitors just get away.

But today in 36 degree weather, we had a squirrel visitor who was promptly chased up a tree by the pack. And then the pack promptly sat under the refuge tree for two hours straight. While the squirrel chitted and chattered the pack took turns waiting to greet him. Seven hours later I went out to investigate our new friend and found him no longer chittering and chattering, but flopped in a fork of branches like a wet furry noodle. He looked at me, flapped his flurry tail and didn't move. Luckily for him I had errands to run and a kiddo to pick up. So we gave our guest a break by locking up the pack on the deck, giving him an opportunity to take flight over the fence. Or more aptly said, a dive down the trunk of the tree, a series of bouncing leaps across the lawn and a weave through the fence boards. All under the eye of five dogs who would like nothing more then a chance to play, their way, with instincts in high gear.

What was I doing a year ago? http://ciaobellanicole.blogspot.com/2006/11/focus.html