squirrel dens and bffs

i spend a lot of time outdoors now, wandering through the village. much of this time i am looking up through trees at the gorgeous blooms. i can stand under a tree for a very long time and just look. i fade out of reality in some way, as i take in the angles, particular leafage, and scene.

i sometimes wonder if people looking out their windows, seeing me standing under their tree (we're such a possessive society), think i'm odd.

my little girl has a bff now (for those of you who are male or over the age of nine, that would be "best friend forever"), a little girl in the villiage she has met a couple times.

so i'm under this tree for at least a half hour, staring. i hear the little girl say,

what is your mom looking up in the tree for?

my girl knew because i had pointed it out to her. and we have a kind of sign language like i do with my sister. we can use very few words and communicate a great deal. so our communiques are not always caught by those around.

she's looking at a squirrel,

my girl said.

the kids flanked me. two razor (or scooter) helmeted riders, to my right and my girl atop her bike to my left. we all stood in a line staring up at the tree.

i've always wanted to befriend children and animals. everyone else is a necessary evil as far as i'm concerned. children don't befriend just anyone. espeically the mean ones. when i meet and connect with a mean or "bad" kid, it pleases me immensely.

same with animals. when i walk through the parking lot or around our little apartment, the squirrels stop dead in their tracks and look at me. i talk to them now and say,

it's only a matter of time. we'll be friends. i'm sure of it.

i've got nothing but time here.

i have to file homeschool papers, and i'm wondering how it will look to put, instruction in poetry: befriending animals and examining trees. probably won't go over too well. but this is a different type of education, that's all.

the ducks at the creek were swooping in and out. i'd never seen (at such close proximity: within five feet) a duck fly out of the clear blue sky and land in the water. saw it many times yesterday. the boys were chasing the girls. there was a lot happening. meanwhile my daughter is trying to lure them close to feed them. they did not want to be fed though.

so my girl picks up her recorder and plays her,

i hate ducks song.

which i found funny, until the noise pollution made it very unfunny. she got over it. the ducks came around. did not eat, but entertained us for a good while.

then we went home, but found my girl's bff and her little brother.

so we're all looking up at this squirrel den, and there was a tiny little squirrel face which would peek out. then it would disappear. if you watch something like that long enough you get what is happening. i could make out three distinct squirrel babies. when one would look out the hole for a time, the other would put his hand on his head and push him out of the way, not unlike actual children when trying to see out the den hole. (can you imagine seeing the world for the first time? it is an image i've yet to wrangle into words. but i'm thinking on it.)

i watched this jockeying for position even after the kids resumed their cycling, scootering, and ball kicking.

once in a while, diminutive squirrel forearms would pop out of the hole, as if they were trying to see if they had the ability to cling to the wood. which, they did. the most i saw was half a baby squirrel popping out the hole. and when the kids would circle around and ride by, the squirrels would watch ever so curiously and pull their little heads in. sometimes there were two little squirrels trying to look out the hole.

i need to go back today and see if the squirrels don't venture out entirely. meanwhile, my girl and her dad will try another church where her bff and family go. i will stick with the little chapel for now.