I told you, it's a black squirrel ...

Some folks here in New England scoffed when I told them we had a black squirrel
nesting in our neighborhood. "Such a thing -- a BLACK squirrel -- just doesn't exist",
they said. "Squirrels are gray!"

I've been told black squirrels are common down in Tennessee -- but NOT in Melrose.
In fact, at 80 years young and a one-time hunter, I've never ever seen a black
squirrel. It's like saying, "Hey, I saw a green horse once..."

Here's the proof. Our black squirrel is bob-tailed, has a hint of russet on his
underside, and has a few gray hairs in his short black tail. He is normal size, but
he is ferocious -- and chases all the gray squirrels away from his dining room --
whether his dining area is a fresh pumpkin or a section of lawn under the pin oak.

Being a New Englander (now), I have to think of the practical application of this
bit of news. What comes to mind is, in October, as we cut our pumpkin's top out to
remove all those seeds -- we could just leave the lid off and let the squirrels
do the clean-out job. That would save us, what, maybe five minutes of work?

One has to stay ahead in this game of life.

December 2, 2011

Photogravure

I told you, it's a black squirrel ...