My husband and I enjoy looking out the side window of our house at the wildlife that skitter here and there. Great feats of strength are on display as these little critters teeter across electrical wires with one foot ahead of the other – balancing like a prima donna with cheeks full of hidden treasures. Those cheeks can hold more than you think possible. This spring we have a whole new family of three siblings that simply love to put on a show. I’m thinking of creating little costumes for them. Scratch that idea. My sewing machine has retired along with me.

We have named one of them, “Nutsy.”  This champion of the black walnut tree has outdone himself.  He hastens to carry a dumbbell consisting of two walnuts on a stem.  Carefully he proceeds to the high wire and takes his first step. With each move forward, he is coaxed to a moment of terror, yet he persists.  Onward he goes to the highest point, crisscrossing wires and branches, hoping not to electrocute himself in the process.

There’s another one we named “Stubby,” because of his abnormally short tail. He may have been walking behind or underneath Nutsy when his final step on the wire sent him swirling to the ground. It’s also possible that Stubby almost lost his life under the tire of an oncoming car. Maybe one of the feral cats got to him. The fact that squirrels are so agile and acrobatic, they should have their own Olympic games and be awarded medals for their performances. We could hold up little score cards from our chairs inside, indicating how excellent we thought they were.

I wonder what goes through their little minds.  Probably not much, or they wouldn’t dare to do such amazing deeds.  The perils of squirreling would soon diminish the entire population, if they knew what was in store for them.  Still, they persist.  Pressing on towards the final goal – storing those nuts for future sustenance.  And God places the memory of the location of that food deeply in their minds, so they never have to go hungry. Such trust.  If only we had a faith like that.

Maybe I should get a life instead of looking out the window all the time.