Life lesson from furry friends in the garden
I’m a self-proclaimed nature and animal lover. Not a day passes without me feeding birds, squirrels, and occasionally a bull, who I affectionately call Bulki. He stands innocently and looks through the gate for want of some treat, making my heart melt.
It’s been a practice for a while. Religiously, a ghee wali roti is made for Flurry, my squirrel friend. I even call the thick foliage of the bougainvillea hedge growing elegantly to make a green wall in our house, a maternity home for bulbuls, squirrels and the sun birds.
That’s all quite understandable but for the burgeoning population of squirrels, it’s getting a bit difficult. I don’t think they even acknowledge this aunty’s effort. Unabashedly, they bite at strings around plants, run away with the plastic thread roll and as if that’s not enough, one day I even spotted a mask in their nest!
With all my patience, I said nothing for aren’t they all God’s creations? But all hell broke loose the other day when I was faced with a rather peculiar predicament.
At the stroke of 4.30pm, I normally sit down in the garden with a hot cup of tea. I start preparing for this routine ahead of time though I know it doesn’t take long. So, with the cup in hand accompanied with two matthis to snack on, I stepped out in the garden.
Forever multi-tasking, I felt I should keep the extra stuff lying about while the tea cools down. But to my horror on returning to the table, I found a matthi missing. Initially, I thought I must have inadvertently forgotten one inside but was proved wrong.
I went to the extension in our garden to look for the missing matthi only to find the second matthi had disappeared, too! Now this was in a span of three minutes. How funny could my army of squirrels be? Why would they do this to me when I feed them every single day? Unless they didn’t want me to indulge in the sinful treat.
On hearing about the incident, my husband and daughter had a loud laugh. Perhaps, the Almighty didn’t want me to indulge in fried stuff. How else could I justify the rogue act of the squirrels? I had no idea that they were so smart and foodies with a voracious appetite.
As for me, well I had no choice but make do with glucose biscuits that evening. I had kept the biscuits for my two adorable beagles. Yes, they were tastier than ever because grapes are sour.
The squirrels’ act surely inspired me to write and share my story with readers. Never again will I leave food unattended on the garden table. That’s the first lesson my furry friends have taught me. Be present where you are.
HOW FUNNY COULD MY ARMY OF SQUIRRELS BE? WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS TO ME WHEN I FEED THEM EVERY SINGLE DAY? UNLESS THEY DIDN’T WANT ME TO INDULGE IN THE SINFUL TREAT