-

 Well, Squirrel Week just ended… 

The photos in the daily short articles are endearing, funny, and mind-boggling. If you need a reprieve from human news, try these reports from Washington, DC.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/11/best-of-squirrel-photos/ 


As you know, I have my own squirrel paradise in the old Live Oaks. And have reported to you about them before. For years, I have felt the common Eastern Fox Squirrels here in California are just too big to be considered cute, they are ravenous, greedy, and wasteful dropping stolen plums and apples after just one bite, leaving sometimes nothing unless I want to harvest unripe fruit.  

 

Then last November came Silvana into the picture a much smaller lithe acrobat and air dancer. She’s been building nests with a partner, and I have two kinds of squirrels now in the garden. There is a lot of flirting going on, when I talk to them out loud, and after a while I make sure to also scare them away so they don’t become too tame. And don’t find too many of my ripe wild strawberries. But all know my heart has been softened because of Silvana. I crawl on the ground searching for the ruby jewels, leaving the lighter red ones for another day in the sun, ready to be harvested with a light touch of my fingers, hopefully :)


Wild strawberries – the taste of original strawberry all in one tiny morsel – I grew up collecting those in the wild, in open forests, unforgettably divine… the picking and eating, both. 


And here this year’s winners in the Squirrel World as they show us how it is to be done: 


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/11/squirrel-week-first-place-photos/ 


Danger & Empathy – Navigating our Thorny World & Caring – Daring & Tenderness 



Comments

nicole gervacio said…
wow, both winning photos say so much...definitely a reflection of the times. ah the squirrels are feeling it too...

there's always incredible activity in the garden, love that you have made a new friend! and the wild strawberries...i'm so grateful i have had the experience of picking and enjoying their delicious flavor. so beautiful, a pleasure and joy!
April 19, 2022 at 2:57 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  Immigration On Friday morning of September 20, I am spending a couple of hours for my naturalization interview in the federal building  on 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco  that houses the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Then later at 1 pm, in the oath ceremony, I am reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Standing, holding up my right hand like everyone else, repeating the words after our master of ceremonies, I am engulfed in a chorus of immigrants’ voices from all over the world. Out of maybe 80, only two are Caucasian. The man leading us through the 20 minutes ceremony, is most likely a judge, but without his robe. He is an elegant, kind, and personable elder. We can hear the genuineness in his voice, and we are genuine, too. As we pledge allegiance to this country, the English sentences might ring slightly different for each of us. In another minute we will be citizens of the United States. Something in me is expanding. I am swearing to be a responsible an...
Read more
-
Image
  Last Dance with Uncle Oak This time, to honor the loss of another member of my ancient live oaks, I want to climb into the tree. Like I used to do 32 years ago, move, touch, feel – suspended in the air, resting on bark, sensations to be remembered. Perhaps documenting it? I ask around last minute, and find a good match in photographer  Rebecca Weinstein  to take stills of my last dance with old Uncle Oak. Once my naked feet touch the rough bark, a dynamic joy starts spreading through my body and limbs. The surprising urge to elongate myself within the safety of his sturdy arms. Next morning in a different light, I dress for another chance of closeness, envisioning my smallness to be captured. The freedom to grow into a tree, become tree , get an oak’s view, blend well, and disappear eventually. Uncle Oak, has been leaning for decades, growing northward horizontally, reaching far over into the neighbor’s yard. Now that Mama Oak has left, his malaise is more apparent...
Read more
-
Image
  “I Wanted All Of Society To Be A Witness.” These days, when tears spring up in the eye so quickly, so readily like tiny wild strawberries, each time I know the heart is touched whether I want it or not – the silvery breathy voice of the young science writer, the shy bowing of the singer receiving her applause, the sweet smile of Cecile after an exquisite concert, the fiercely angry voices of French admirers of Gisèle Pelicot. And then of course: the grandson, one arm around his 72-year-old grandmother’s shoulder as she gives her brief speech to the press after a grueling months-long public trial of rape. He admiringly glances at her, with utter calm, concentration and confidence, soft support in his face and body language, nothing restless, over bearing, pitying – only admiration, respect and love. And I burst into tears! This rape story is not about a celebrity, starlet, beauty queen, but about a retired manager, married mother and grandmother, having been drugged unconscious an...
Read more