Minnesota autumn

November is our country’s designated month of thankfulness. Yes, I know. Thankfulness is something we should practice every day. But Facebook friends have been bringing it to my attention lately with daily thanks for specific things. So far, I have not written my own daily posts of thankfulness, but then, this happened…

As we all know, real life is so much stranger and more surprising than any fiction I could write. Today’s post is proof of that.

This morning, as usual, Willow and I went for our walk. As an avid lover of squirrel chasing, Willow is on high alert for any sign of her long-tailed rodent friends. This year our neighborhood squirrel families have been multiplying faster than bedbugs in a one-star motel, so there are plenty to chase. To keep us both safe – her from running into the street and getting splatted by a car and me from being yanked into the street and being splatted by a car – I am ever vigilant of squirrel sightings so I can shorten the leash and avoid disaster.

At the corner of a street near a small, leaf-bare tree, Willow was too busy checking out the fire hydrant to notice a gray squirrel running past, holding something strange in its mouth. It hopped nimbly to the crook of the tree about four feet up and sat there watching us. As I stood perfectly still staring back, the little guy removed the item he had in his mouth and began to lick on it.

At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. The object was so foreign to the scenario. I’d seen squirrels carrying nuts or crabapples, but… it was a tiny white stick of some kind, like a… Dum Dum sucker? Completely undisturbed by our presence he held the stick with both hands and licked away at the round yellow treat like a naughty child sneaking left-over Halloween candy while his mother slept.

Lately, I have been leaving my phone home while we go on our walks, finding that I tend to enjoy the time more without responding to random texts or social media alerts. But today, I had the perfect shot of a squirrel eating a Dum Dum and no camera to prove my story.

Regardless, I laughed out loud at the scene and enjoyed this bit of humor God had put into my day. Sadly, my laughter apparently startled the squirrel. He stuck the handle of the sucker back in his mouth like a pirate with a knife and climbed to a higher branch.

I’ve never imagined putting two such polar opposites together in a post about gratitude, but…

“I am thankful for Halloween Dum Dums and God’s amazing intelligent/playful design in nature.”

Thanks for stopping! Do you have something you are thankful for today? Seen any strange and wonderful things in nature? Want to share? Leave a comment!

Thanks,

Barbara

Fall is edging closer today. The air is crisp with a touch of winter chill. Leaves crunch underfoot when I walk my dogs through the woods near our home. Rugby and Willow like to chase squirrels whenever they have the audacity to come down from their high tree perches and whip their tales around like a starter flag at the Indie 500. Sadly, the pups always lose that chase and content themselves with sniffing out damp, mossy ground near the edge of the path.

The white, blue, lavender and yellow wild flowers that recently bloomed throughout the woods and brightened our walks with their colorful nodding heads, are nearly all gone now. Instead, trees proudly wear autumn foliage in red, yellow, and orange. A bed of fallen leaves already covers the ground along much of the path, turning slowly from vibrant to dull and rusty.

We walk these trails nearly every day, listening to the chatter of squirrels, birdsong, and the creaking of limbs above our heads. Not far away is the busyness of life; cars speed here and there, the high school band plays on the field behind the school, kids chatter and laugh in the yard of a daycare. But in the confines of these towering trees, for the length of half an hour or so, we feel secluded in our own little forest.

I love autumn and the changing of the season. I love wearing sweatshirts and jeans and not getting hot. I love the smell of a bonfire and no longer needing bug spray. I love toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate and watching the stars light up the night sky.