It was chilly outside but a nice fire in the fireplace kept me warm and cozy. I felt peaceful and relaxed while watching a few deer leisurely wandering through the yard, munching on leaves, and glancing in the window as they passed. I was spending a week alone in my sister’s cabin on Center Island in the Straights of San Juan De Fuca. I had planned to do some writing. I had always desired some time away from my hectic life to relax and write. I was immensely enjoying myself taking walks around the island, reading, and catching up on my sleep. When I sat down to write though the ideas would not come.

For entertainment, I had two small visitors who came up on the back porch daily. At first, they seemed to come out of curiosity, they peeked in the sliding glass window, and we just watched each other. I had never made friends with a squirrel, so I tried now to befriend them. At first, I just left a few nuts and breadcrumbs, which they ate happily, looked in the window, and hopped away. I began leaving the window slightly open to see if they would come closer. One did show more curiosity by wandering closely towards the window and even sticking his nose in. The other one stayed far away and chattered loudly at his partner. Each day the one squirrel became more and more friendly and even once or twice took some food from my hand. Then one day my little friend with a burst of bravado took several steps inside, looked up at me as he took my offering, and quickly ran away. Meanwhile, his partner was not pleased and chattered loudly then attacked his friend as they both ran off the porch.

I didn’t see them for a couple of days and when they returned I saw to my dismay that my friend’s tail was no longer bushy, the hair had been removed to the bone. Obviously, this was the result of a fight with his partner. He no longer came up to the window, he didn’t look at me just took some food from the porch and they both ran away. I never saw him again. I felt guilty as it was clear his partner was angry because he made friends with me.

Soon it was time for me to return home, relaxed, refreshed, and with a fun memory.