in the spring, summer, and fall one or several of us will often choose to sleep on the screen porch. sleeping on the screen porch means, among other things, being awakened at the break of dawn by a very emphatic, and very loud, red squirrel. he leaps from the white oak to the maple, races along the maple branches outside the porch, then hops into the white cedar growing up along the corner post, and decides that any sleepers in his vicinity are either a threat, or have simply slept too long. the wake-up call is a deafening and incessant trill–equal parts charming and infuriating. today we found this fearless red squirrel in the driveway, dead.  he was intact except for one small bloody spot near his chest. if i had to guess, i would say he had been stealing chicken feed again, and one of the girls gave him a quick, vicious peck to show him who was boss. now, after two years of complaining about the din every morning, i am suddenly concerned about the lack of noise. was this our cedar tree squirrel just trying to get a free meal after a hard winter?? i almost don’t want to find out next summer.

american red squirrel and his luxurious mahogany tail

saint paul, minnesota