My squirrelly friend, Rocky, rejoined me today for another round of mutual weeding in our backyard. Today I was more prepared and this time had my trusty camera with me. This time he came even closer than yesterday, only about four feet away. I think he may have been jealous of the time I spent with Janey the orangutan this morning at the zoo. After weeding, we exchanged pleasant “Merry Christmases” and then went on our separate ways. I hope we get even closer tomorrow. My plan is to eventually have him fall asleep in my lap while I pet him.
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Reminds of my UCSD days when I used to take my lunch and study materials (in those days they were books) out to one of my favorite spots on the planet: the cliffs that were accessible from La Jolla Farms Rd, just steps from the Revelle campus. There was a small natural “pocket” overlooking the beach, where I would sit and enjoy the spectacular view and be alone for hours … except for the occasional 4-legged visitors. There was one squirrel in particular who often came to share my lunch. He eventually felt so comfortable with me that he would automatically crawl up and sit on my knee, and we’d be eye to eye. I would talk to him while he accepted corn chips from my hand (with his hands). “Pass me a corn chip, please.” It was quite a civilized little tea party.
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I remember years ago going to Torrey Pines most weekdays, sitting in a grass area and feeding Chip Ahoys to the squirrels. They also would sometimes climb on me to get them. Thinking back, feeding chocolate to squirrels was probably not the best idea.