Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Squirrel!

Do you have a Bucket List of things you would like to do before you die?  You know, exciting and admirable things, like "climb Mt. Everest" and "bring peace to the world."

I have never written down a formal Bucket List, but I have a few things on my mental life list: write a novel (in progress); see all fifty states (also in progress); and learn how to ride a unicycle (not in progress because I am clumsy and will find a way to ride off a cliff). 

I also really want to take one great photo of a squirrel.  I know, I know.  It's not exactly on par with scaling Mt. Everest or swimming with sharks, but damnit, squirrels are the jesters of suburbia, and they hate to pose for the camera.

I recently started working from the leather chair in our "man room".  I like working in the living room because from its window, I can survey the neighborhood; but the leather chair in the back room is much more comfortable.  From the leather chair, I have a view of the tree in our backyard.  And every afternoon, a fat squirrel frolics in the tree. 

I now lie in wait with my camera, like the paparazzi lurking on Rodeo Drive, waiting for my muse to appear.  I already have captured a few winning shots, and I think, by the end of the summer, I will be able to cross "take a photo of a squirrel" off my mental bucket list.