Chapter 26
The water splashed on the newly mown lawn, lightly sprinkling my trouser cuffs as I carried my blanket and picnic basket of edibles to the drier section of the park, now shaded by the giant oaks and spruce.Gingerly I unfolded the blanket beneath an Elm -- close enough to hear the brook, but far enough from the pathway not to hear the incessant joggers conversations -- smoothing the corners down on the dry patch of lawn I se the basket on a corner and stepped back to admire the picturesque view of my future picnic with Julianne: everything looked brilliant as the sunbeams splintered through the leafy canopy high overhead creating a patchwork of light and shade across the blanket, ground, basket, tree and squirell.
"What do you want?" I asked the large gray squirell now climbing on the lid of the picnic basket."Hey, leave that alone!." I said charging the basket by a step.The squirell looked up briefly, then went back to trying to pry the lid off the basket to get to the food inside.
"Raaaaaar!" I said to him waving my arms at the little gray. Nothing."Ooga Booga Booga" I cried, charging him a bit closer with back hunched and limbs flailing at the furry beast. He looked up and chattered at me as he began to fiddle witht he latch that held the basket shut.
"Get away from there." I called, chucking a pine-cone deftly at him... but missing by a yard.
"That's not yours!" I shouted rushing up another step and hucking a rock at him, but hitting th basket. He chirruped at me angrily, and went back to the latch.
"Leave it alone you stinking..." I swung my foot at him, and landed a blow sending the squirell flying into the trunk of the tree behind him. I was stunned. I didn't think I was htat close to him. I didn't think I would connect. But I did, and now there he was, lying un-conscious on the corner of my blanket... or was it dead?
I looked right and left, and, seeing none, I slowly walked over and nudged the thing with my shoe. Nothing. Again. Nothing. I bent down and poked it with a finger. It limply responded as though dead.
I picked it up by the tail, gently and slowly, and chucked it in the bushes two yards behind the tree, then wiped my hands on a napkin from the basket.
"You are a jerk, you know that?" The sound was behind me.
"Julianne... I can explain..." I stammered out, but she just shook her head, turned and left.
I watched her form receed from view, then turned back to the blanket. There was the squirell. He was staring at me. I could almost see a grin on his face for the ploy it had just pulled. Then, without a word, he was off leaving me, my perfect picnic, and the sunlight all alone.
Stupid squirell.
1 Comments:
My mom would love that story. She was attacked by a squirrel while walking at a resort at Lake Tahoe. The squirrel ran up her leg and up to her shoulder. when she tried to get it off it sank it's chompers into her hand and tore the skin as she flung it off.
She had to get stitches and do the whole rabies vaccine.
Now she hates squirrels. She wants a license plate frame that says "so many squirrels, so few recipes" and she tries to hit them with her car when they dodge across the street!
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