"Let me in!"

A multi-coloured squirrel visits my brother's back yard every day. Sitting here on the edge of a chair, it watches me taking photos out the glass door, wondering when I'm going to feed it.

It gathers daily with other squirrels, black and grey, under the feeder to devour the seed the grackles and starlings fling from its edge. But mostly, it wants peanuts.

My brother started throwing unshelled peanuts to the squirrels to distract them from the feeder. They would run and hide their booty but it would take just long enough for the cardinals and finches to gather some seed and retreat to the cedar hedge. Then one day, this coat-of-many colours fellow - shall we call it Joseph? - darted into the house.

This is a smart creature... it figured out where the peanuts came from and wanted more when my brother wasn't looking. Of course it was quickly evicted, but it became convinced the bank of peanuts was the other side of the glass.

This past Easter Sunday I was completely amused by its antics.

Joseph sat, front paws folded, for quite some time, occasionally reaching out to tap the glass. "I'm here, I'm waiting," it seemed to say. We all chuckled over this intrepid squirrel that ignores my brother's cat, ignores the feeder now and goes straight to the door... it knows where the good stuff is and is pretty certain that if it hangs out long enough, it'll get some. And of course - it did.

Always, as I learn more about nature, I find things to amuse, bemuse and puzzle me... Joseph is pure entertainment.