I brought some hazelnuts out to the squirrels and put them by the post in the middle of the woodshed.

Crispin helped himself, and then nearly choked on his food.

 

“Yikes!” he mumbled through a hazelnut. His teeth chattered.

“Wh-wh-what’s Henry doing here?”

 

“I heard about all the free food,” Henry said.

“I’m comin’ up there to get me some of that, and you’d better be gone if you know what’s good for you.”

 

But Crispin had already stashed away most of the hazelnuts, and only a few sunflower seeds were left.

*****

Watch as Henry roots through the wood chips and dirt to try to find leftovers. Notice his fingers and the toes on the end of his long feet. But he’s a dainty eater when he does find a morsel.

Having eaten his fill of leftover sunflower seeds, he climbs a tree to look for a safe place to have a nap. Must check out the now-vacant birdhouse on his way up.

When he gets beyond the birdhouse, watch how he looks down and then decides to risk a little jump to the next branch for a new grip. He’s fussy about which branches to pull himself up on. One is rather skinny and dead, so he contemplates it only for a split second before moving on to a thicker branch.

And up at the top he found a very fat branch that provided a cozy platform for him to have a nap in the sunshine, out of reach of lower level dangers.