Sitting on the glider under an oak, a twig loaded with leaves dropped at my feet. I looked up to see a red bushy tail swishing briskly between the limbs. She was on a mission. I searched high up in the branches to see the one she chose to build her nest. The foundation was already set. It seemed she was planning a fortress, high above the dangers which walked or slithered the ground below, to protect her soon-to-be offspring.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her acrobatics held me spellbound. I originally sat down to search the very tops of the pines for my favorite mockingbird who serenaded me almost daily. But this morning something new was in store. I had something to learn from this dedicated mother.
She was particular as she scanned the limbs of one tree or another nearby to select the exact match for the next step in her production. When she approached her next target she gnawed quickly where the twig met the branch and carried it, between her teeth with lightening speed, to the nest where she knitted her new find into its predetermined place. I became more amazed the more I watched. Once she chose a dead branch instead of a twig. I thought she couldn’t possibly maneuver it from where it was lodged among the living ones but I was wrong. She completed the impossible task with great skill and pulled it up about six feet to the nest above moving from limb to limb with grace.
Whether she was taught by her mother or knew by instinct, it became clear she knew her purpose. She knew her talent and showed great confidence in her ability. I’m sure she rises every morning and goes about fulfilling her tasks. She doesn’t worry. She only does. Her head is not filled with distractions.
Today she will build her nest and hide acorns for tomorrow. She will steal food from my ducks in their aviary to eat today. She knows they will not complain, but knows I will. However she is not concerned because I’m too big and slow to do anything about it.
I’m jealous she is at one with nature. She lives. She loves. She accepts life on life’s terms. She doesn’t philosophize whether life is fair or not. She does not pity her position. She makes her life by doing what she was made to do from morning until night.
© Phyllis Weeks Rogers 2017
Header photo credit: pinterest.com
walkinghumbly.blog 
Fascinating, well observed, story, Phyllis. If only we could all ‘do what we were made to do’, if only we were sure what that was.
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That’s what I was thinking. Thank you, Roland.
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You know what they say, “Listen to your heart.”
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I wish I was as focused and as self assured as your squirrel.
Great nature story with lessons for humans.
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Thank you for your comment. It’s always nice to hear how your writing is received.
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What a lovely post… Hurrah that you sit outside and simply observe what is happening. We have some mockingbirds in our neighborhood who often sit on top of our neighbor’s house and sing. I am grateful when they pay us a visit. My favorite sentences from your past are “She will steal food from my ducks in their aviary to eat today. She knows they will not complain, but knows I will. However she is not concerned because I’m too big and slow to do anything about it.” Those resourceful squirrels! Your post reminded me of a song I wrote while sitting in the tiny — but very active — backyard of friends in Toronto. Here’s a link if you are curious: https://amusicalifeonplanetearth.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/another-good-morning/
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Thank you so very much for your kind words. I do so love your music posts. Yesterday I was playing each one until I was interrupted and life made me leave the computer.
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Fun! Nature just knows what Nature knows.
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Amen. Thank you.
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