Well, I thought I’d preface this post by saying I was continuing with the circus theme by using this headline. But first, I Googled to see if I had correctly used P.T. Barnum’s quote, only to find out that he never uttered those words, but the quote has been merely attributed to him for well over a century.

I’m still using the headline as it fits the subject … and yours truly.

Earlier in the week, I stopped at Meijer for a few groceries and picked up a bag of peanuts to feed to the squirrels at Council Point Park, now that I have resumed walking there.

I stopped myself from loading up on several bags of peanuts because I’m a realist – after all, we live in Michigan and this spate of nice weather is not going to last forever. There will be many more days to walk at the Park down the road, once Winter has passed.

Because I am not only a nature lover, but an animal lover as well, I just couldn’t resist those squirrels on the Park’s perimeter path bounding over to greet me, or scrambling to line up at my heels, tagging along like a faithful puppy dog, hoping that I’d acknowledge their presence with a peanut or two.

Besides tagging along behind me, they love dashing in front, or scrambling over by my feet, sometimes begging by raising up on their haunches. Even a flick of the tail, and those plaintive eyes just do me in.  You, too, would succumb to such animal adoration.

I’m such a soft touch, and, I admit – yes, they give me the warm fuzzies, because it’s like having a pet, without all the emotional ties that go into being a perfect pet parent.

So, today as I set out on my walk, a small Ziploc bag of unsalted peanuts stuffed into my coat pocket, I said a silent prayer that the squirrels did not hear that it was “National Popcorn Day” and perhaps think I’d let them down by not proffering those puffed treats to them instead of peanuts in the shell.

I got one entire asphalt loop walked, added 3 ½ miles to my total miles walked, made a few more furry friends in the process, plus went home with a silly smile on my face.

Yup, there IS a sucker born every minute.