A gray squirrel visited our
home this morning. He enjoyed
several of the peanuts we left for
him on the wide railing of the
terrace. He'd have surely eaten more but
for the Blue Jays that happened
by. Blue Jays, by their very
nature, are brash and bold to
creatures both feathered and
furry. So, our gray squirrel
friend enjoyed only a few of
the peanuts left specifically
for him and the other gray
squirrels. We left a few more
peanuts on the same wide
railing of our small terrace in
the hope of more furry
visitors. The Blue Jays again
beat the squirrels to the
peanuts. For a few brief moments we
were both a little distressed by
our perceived powerlessness to
enjoy a view of a few gray
squirrels enjoying a few
peanuts. At essentially the
same moment, we both shared an
identical thought. We reasoned that
the Blue Jays found the
peanuts on the wide railing of
our small terrace by their
better than average sight from
a perch high in the trees. Thus,
we agreed, if we place the
peanuts under some object, a
table, a chair, something to
cover the view of part of our
small terrace from a perch high in
the surrounding trees... and...
Eureka! The umbrella that came
with the round table on our small
terrace was still in the closest just
down the hall. "The umbrella" we both
exclaimed and fetched it
together. I held the umbrella, she,
the bag of peanuts. And, well, long
story, short, the gray squirrels ate
well just before noon on the table under
the umbrella on our terrace with the
wide railing and a goodly supply
of peanuts, still in the shell.