The squirrels at the Park have become lazy of late, preferring to stay up in their nests peering down at me.  You know, I get a kick out of those little guys, but don’t like them enough to climb up a tree to hand feed them, though I do admit to gazing up to a squirrel perched on a branch over my head to cajole him into coming down to ground level for some peanuts.

Sometimes there is method in my madness, as I’m looking for a photo op for that day’s blogpost, but, most of the time I don’t need to coax them, as they come running over on their own.  I have been generous doling out the peanuts all year, so perhaps they have been tucking away more peanuts than I give them credit for, and this accounts for their rather blasé and lackadaisical behavior recently.

The weather has also gotten fairly ugly the past two weeks.  I know these dark, chilly and/or rainy mornings lack the appeal of a bright and sunny morn, so I’m less inclined to jump out of bed, eager to begin my day either.

I wonder if animals that scavenge for food to store for the Winter are letting their guard down, having been spoiled by our past two mild Winters?

What squirrels I do see scampering around my feet are roly-poly.  Yep, those peanut pals are downright pudgy, hardly resembling the lithe little buddies that have greeted me nearly every morning these past six months, thanks to me sharing the love … and a lot of peanuts.

It seems hard to believe that eating peanuts in the shell would increase your girth, and it sure wasn’t the one bag of M&Ms I gave my favorite squirrel on the blue bench this Summer.  Nor, could it be the worm-ridden apples or dirty old walnuts I see them noshing on occasionally.  The berries on the Park bushes were either enjoyed by the pair of woman walkers, or the birds.

Meanwhile, the squirrels in the neighborhood, that usually glean a good deal of their diet from raiding homeowners’ bird feeders, now are in hog heaven, feasting on the now-dilapidated Halloween pumpkins that still adorn front porches, awaiting the next trash pickup.  I watched the smaller black squirrels diving headfirst into the pumpkin’s cavity, or the larger red and gray squirrels, who might be a tad too big to fit into the opening,  chomping away at the pumpkin’s evil grin, or triangular eyes and nose.

I hurried out the door this morning, thankful that it was rain-free and checked out those few squirrels who still hustled for peanuts alongside me as I traveled the perimeter path at the Park.  I’m taking advantage of any and all nice weather to bulk up my steps, and that window of opportunity this morning was just perfect for doing so.