I’ll preface this post by paraphrasing the old saying “seven days without a trip to Council Point Park makes one weak” … I figured since we are having a spate of stormy weather over the next few days, I’d best take a trip down to the Park while the conditions were dry before my feet forgot the way. I grabbed my camera and a Ziploc pack of peanuts to take along for the trip. Now that I am no longer wearing my coat with the big cargo pockets, I’m at a loss how to carry all the peanuts that I like to toss out to my squirrel buddies along the path. On days when the mercury is creeping high on the thermometer in the a.m. and the humidity drags you down as soon as you step outside, a coat sure is not needed. I keep my camera in a pouch on my waist so it is handy and my pedometer is affixed to my waistband on one hip. Carrying a bag is awkward if you want to take a picture, so I tied a larger bag onto my belt and off I went. As soon as I got to the Park, a squirrel came bounding over to see me, leaping high in the air over the fields of clover and coming to a stop at my feet. I tossed out some peanuts and he just sat there. No expectations I guess. Since I’d made this peanut pit stop and he was just looking at me, I pointed at the peanuts on the path and said “those are yours” … he just continued sniffing at my shoe and sitting by my feet on his haunches. Well, who could resist that wistful face, so I tossed out some more peanuts, but not before I snapped his photo. This young fella suddenly seemed intent on climbing up on my shoe, and since I’m not looking to have a squirrel for a pet, I stepped aside and continued on my way so he ran over to grab some goodies. There were no more squirrel encounters today, so technically I think you could call my gregarious little companion my “sole mate”.