This morning I went outside to sit with my coffee and Beryl joined me. She’s got a second ugly abscess on her flank from an encounter with Mr. Nose last week. I hoped she’d come over and let me have a look at this new one and maybe get some goop onto it.
But she had other plans.
Before I could say good morning to her, something on the Upper East Side caught her attention. One moment she was walking towards me and the next, her head swung to the right and her body followed. She stared intently up Grandma’s Path.
I thought it might be Mr. Nose, so I peeked around the corner of the house. I didn’t see a thing, but her attention was riveted as she trotted across the tiles. Something moved in the trees. A bird?
The way the branches dropped, it had to be a pretty big bird. Maybe a hiyodori? Nope. It was a bushy-tailed grey squirrel. An actual squirrel! The first I have ever seen here. I spotted some up north in Aomori earlier this year, but I have never seen one in this area.
I frantically snapped some photos, hoping to catch him. He was elusive, but if you look at the center of this zoomed in photo, you might make him out.
He bounced off into the treetops next to the barn. I looked for a nest or any evidence of his existence, but all I saw were trees.
Later on after our excitement faded, I got some antibiotic goop onto Beryl’s wound. She promptly licked it off. I hope it helped for the 5 seconds it was undisturbed.
