This time of year, when the acorns are abundant, the sidewalk in front of my house is strewn with half eaten nuts and their hard cupules making my daily trek to the mail box an exercise in evasive action to avoid twisting an ankle. There are two types of creatures that are responsible for this mess: the noisy scrub jays and the curious Eastern fox squirrels. This day, the fox squirrel was especially curious. I walked a visiting friend outside and the squirrel couldn’t keep its eyes off us, darting up and down the trunks and peering over twigs and from behind leaves. When my friend drove off, I went back inside and got my camera. When I came back outside, the squirrel was perched on a rock beneath the oak tree munching on an acorn. It retreated to the safety of a tall branch but peeked at me from all angles.
