I get the impression that Mr. Squirrel pays far more regular visits to the balcony than I was aware of. The cats seem to have Mr. Squirrel's routine down cold though, even though I don't.
 | It was the Professor who noted yesterday that Mr. Squirrel must be paying a repeat visit, because the ACfH was pressing her nose against the screen door to the balcony. I snuck over with my camera to try and get a squirrel picture. Mr. Squirrel could have cared less whether or not I was there though, and rather than getting a squirrel picture, I got a ton of cat and squirrel shots. |
 | The Professor called that first shot of the squirrel my "artsy" shot. I'm discovering it is difficult to convince an automatic camera to focus beyond the screen. Regardless, here's a better picture of Mr. Squirrel, checking out the cats. |
 | The cats (at least two out of three of them) were checking out Mr. Squirrel as well. Clueless obviously wasn't feeling too good, but he at least sat up to watch the proceedings. ACfH took a far more active role in squirrel-hosting, however. |
 | There are apparently rules to this game, most of which I haven't picked up on yet. A very important rule though is that Mr. Squirrel must taunt the Cats. Mr. Squirrel knows full well that the screen is there to keep the Cats in. I think he rather regards this as visiting the lion house at the zoo. Of course, Mr. Squirrel has a rather juvenile mentality, so his visit to the lion house includes taunting the lions to see if he can make them do anything interesting. |
 | ADfH was only too glad to give Mr. Squirrel something for his efforts. I don't know what the little Grey Estupido would do if she actually had access to the squirrel in question, but I suspect she'd be far less bold than she is when protected by the Almighty Screen Door. |
 | Another part of the game rules is to talk in tongues. Kitten jabbers, Mr. Squirrel chitters back. I swear there is actually communication being established here. I also suspect that Kitten's and Mr. Squirrel's mothers would not approve of the language being used. Still, they're kids, it's the schoolground, and anything goes at recess. |
 | Clueless had just finished urping up what he could for the second time, so he really wasn't into the pleasantries being exchanged. It's a testament to his interest that he actually sat up in his cat bed to get a better look though. That's all he did, sit and watch. I think it distracted him a bit from feeling sick, though. |
 | Ever see those commercials: "Never let them see you sweat."? The deodorant people must have been studying Squirrel Philosophy 101 when they wrote the ads. Squirrels have it down pat. Never let them see you sweat. Act nonchalant. If you act like you own the place, then you probably do. |
 | It got to the point where Mr. Squirrel was starting to bore himself with all this laid-back nonsense, though. He hauled his sorry furry tail over to the corner of the balcony railing, and actually kicked back and took a snooze. In front of the cats. ACfH was beside herself. |
 | At a signal apparent only to Mr. Squirrel, he hopped up, looked around, and bailed off the side of the balcony. I assume he landed on the balcony below; we're the third floor and I suspect there'd have been a little squirrel-size crater if he'd actually jumped all the way tot he ground. CW was already sleeping again by this point, although ACfH rather resented the abrupt departure, without so much as a "Fare the well." I guess Mr. Squirrel missed a few rules of etiquette surrounding the game. |
I'm off to pay a hospital call to a very unhappy cat. I'll tell him everybody sends their love.