Every time they come for a visit it’s a family of five humans and an extra critter. My daughter, her husband, three children and a little black Cockapoo. As good grandparents, we have supplies for everyone, and especially for Lola: a red plastic dish for food and a blue one for water. And a doggie guest bed.
What are the bare essentials without the fun and games stuff? So we keep a can of tennis balls to play “fetch,” with Lola. “Fetch” is her her favorite game.
After the last visit I noticed one yellow tennis ball left behind in the yard just under the dining room window. No need to scoop it up and put it away; we’ll leave it there for their next visit.
What a surprise I had yesterday as I was pulling some weeds in the back yard. A gray squirrel leapt from a branch and bounded over to the tennis ball. Seeing him close to the ball clarified how large the ball was, compared to his head. And yet he tried to get his jaws around the ball.
If we were witnessing this scene in Atlantic City or Las Vegas we’d get odds of about 100 to one against his being able to mouth the ball. After several tries, though, he managed to beat the odds, pick it up, and carry it across the lawn to his secret squirrel spot.
There, I assume, he will bury it and wait patiently for next spring, when he hopes with all his squirrely heart, that a tennis ball tree will appear just where he planted that jaw breaking “seed.”
MorristownMemos 
Comments on: "100 TO 1 ODDS" (10)
Aww, perhaps he’s saving the tennis ball for…. Federer?? A delightful post, Ronnie..and love that cute squirrel! 🙂
Thanks, Mal; whenever I run out of ideas about writing I look around at my world, or go somewhere to watch and listen to some of our planet’s interesting life forms, sometimes called humans.
This squirrel’s behavior was definitely not a pre-conceived idea!
Lola has been guarding her tennis balls carefully since reading this!
Dear Lola’s Mom,
Don’t let her know that there are lots more tennis balls in the sport’s store that these came from!
Love,
Your Mom
Ronnie, you crack me up. What I wouldn’t give to know what that squirrel is thinking.
Do you suppose there’s a future in a career of reading squirrel’s minds?
Now, that’s just nutty. 🙂
Well, maybe in my part of the there was a full moon last night!
Just think how disappointed your squirrel will be when he’s hungry in the winter, digs up his jaw-breaker tennis ball and realizes it’s not food.
Disappoint a squirrel: Moi?