August 27th: Cheerios!

It's a few minutes after 8 p.m., and after a long period of writing, I stepped outside to get some fresh air. I had my headphones on and was listening to music the whole time, and it feels good to have those off my ears.

Standing just outside the front door, I stretched my arms overhead, and looked up at the clear sky. It's very cool here at night now, but that helps me wake up a little.

Just at that moment Squirrel came around the corner of the house, just behind me. He was hanging upside down on the outside of the cabin, at about my eye level. I didn't hear him, so he chirped loudly to get my attention.

"Geez, Squirrel," I said, jumping away from him and coming out of my stretch at the same time. "I thought we had an agreement about not sneaking up on each other like that."

"Um, sorry Al. I tried to do it gently."

"Why are you hanging around over here by the door?"

"Well, I was knocking, and you didn't answer, so I started looking for a doorbell," he said, still looking all around the door frame. "I can't find one though."

"No, there is no doorbell with this cabin, just knocking. What's up?"

"Well, you know," he said, looking over at the feeding area. "I hate to ask, but those tortilla chips are a little old."

"How about some --", I started to ask.

"Cheerios!" he interrupted. "Yippee -- Cheerios! Berry Burst?!" he said, starting to get really excited, his tail flicking rapidly from left to right.

"Okay, sure, Berry Burst Cheerios, coming right up."

"Let me help!", he said, bursting in the front door.

"Squirrel!" I yelled, but it was too late. He ran in the front door, then yelled out "Cheerios!" as he slid across the wooden floor, sliding all the way across the living room and into the kitchen. Then he jumped up on the kitchen counter, and waited for me to get the box of Berry Burst Cheerios out of the cabinet, his tail still flicking left and right from his excitement.