My body lay across the wooden glider on our deck. My feet, propped up on the side arm, moved in a slow rocking motion. In places above me the deep green of the Sugar Maple Tree mingled with the lighter almost translucent shade of the Silver Maple. In between I watched the ever shifting spaces of bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds.
My one arm lay across my forehead shading my eyes from the sun as the other lifted a piece of licorice to my mouth. My eyes moved appreciatively across the expanse of green above me and caught a glimpse of something that caused them to stop and retrace their way back through the leaves.
A squirrel lay in the v of a branch almost directly above me to my left. I relaxed there on the bench watching it for a moment, slowly putting another piece of licorice in my mouth and eventually another while the squirrel just continued to lay there. He’s watching me! I thought. He’s probably thinking. Oh, look, there’s a human down there. She’s eating something. Wonder what it is? She’s putting another one in her mouth. Wonder how long she’ll keep that up?
It was an odd sensation being watched by a squirrel. Naw. I thought. He’s not watching me. I’m just paranoid. So I waved. He moved slightly then ran up to another branch. He was watching!
Suddenly he ran down the side of the tree, perched on the edge of the deck and began to chatter excitedly, his body lurching towards me. My mind wavered between the delight of being talked to by a squirrel and the terror of being attacked by a possibly rabid creature. I sat rigidly, saying nothing, and eventually he left. My body relaxed as I laughed, wondering what would have occurred if I had talked back to him.
This squirrel adventure occurred back in May of 2009 and I was reminded of it when I encountered a curious squirrel on a joy walk last week. I was within ten feet of the squirrel and he ran around the tree a few times, peeking out at me, then he posed for a moment, wiggling his nose at me while I took his picture.
1000 Gifts List:
246. A squirrel staring at me.
247.The serious expression on the face of a child who just realized that the words she had spoken would not have pleased Martin Luther King, Jr.
248. The promises of God's Word being true.
249. CD of hymns played on the piano.
250. That when a teenage sister of a student drops off twelve mini-cupcakes for her little sister’s birthday surprise and the students all say that it isn’t enough for a class of twenty-six, another student who remembers the fractions they are being taught says, “Oh yeah, just cut them in half.” and since two students are absent twenty-four halves are exactly enough.
251. Purple crocuses.
252. The green-shoots-beginning of tulips.
253. Children inspired to write under the magic kente cloth.
254. The student authors at our school corporations Student Authors’ Conference.
255. That one of my student’s stories is chosen to be performed by The Brain Stormers.
256. Running into an old friend that I haven’t seen in years and she suggests meeting for tea again.
257. Awesome summer weather in March.
258. Toes digging barefoot into warm March dirt.
259. Working outside with my husband.
260. My husband installing the new back porch light.
261. Recognizing how blessed I am to have a Godly husband.
262. Beautiful red budding branches.
263. Geese returning north.
264. The Word of God.
265. Reading my cousin’s childhood diaries.
266. Strong legs that walk.
267. . . .
godly husband. true gift from God! aren't we blessed? He is so good to us! blessings from Uganda
ReplyDeleteYes, we are so blessed!
DeleteIt's nice hearing from the other side of the world!