Random Story From My Childhood....

When we lived in California, my Dad planted some sort of flower in a pot on the deck. Our house was set against a hill in the woods in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. We had a big deck that wrapped around about half the house. We generally kept our dog, Stealth, tied on a long rope at the edge of the deck. That way, he could go on the deck, onto the hill, or cool himself under the porch. But back to this potted plant. The plant was growing pretty fast, and of course we looked forward to seeing it flower outside the dining room window. Yet each day, another leaf would go missing from the plant. When my Dad noticed, he immediately thought that somehow we kids were causing it. I think we were accused of letting the dog mess with it when we took him for a walk. We denied any involvement in the mysterious, daily disappearance of the leaves. I think we were questioned again the next time Dad noticed another leaf gone missing. Again, we vehemently denied any involvement but we were under suspicion nonetheless. Finally, as we were sitting at the breakfast table one morning, the mystery was solved! A fluffy gray squirrel came hopping onto the deck, climbed into the pot, and nibbled off a leaf. We kids were glad to finally have proof that we were not involved in the plant’s demise!