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Spotted: my first black squirrel in Chicago! Seen them in Detroit and Toronto before, but this little peekaboo is unique among the tawny grey fauna here at home. |
How about you? Are the squirrels where you live grey, black, red, or perhaps a distinguished and scholarly white? Tell us all!
Last night, I found a brown creeper on the sidewalk. Stranded on its back, barely moving twig-lean legs, eyes huge and flat black. I lifted it up and brought it home, waiting for the treatment center to open. Dark and quiet place, but this morning the creeper hadn’t made it. I’m still seeing its frail feet twitch, feeling the little shudders run through it, thinking it would live, be strong.
So our butterfly is the mascot for this morning, when I need something hopeful, lovely, easy, something less melancholy than a bird I couldn’t save.
These elegant trees angle across the path in the Cook County Forest Preserve. They’re just moments away from the Leaning Tower of Niles. Coincidence?
Um, yes, probably.
