Cute Vermin (a squirrelly tale)

  Who says animals are "dumb beasts"?  The squirrels in my neighborhood are neither silent nor stupid.  I find some of their antics entertaining.  And sometimes, they reflect just how I feel - like when I'm working in the yard on a hot day and look up into the oak tree to spot a squirrel watching me, with its body draped over a limb as if to catch any cooling breeze.  Our neighborhood has dogs that bark at anything.  Of course, sometimes they are teased beyond endurance - like when a squirrel prances around just beyond the reach of a leash, chittering and waving his tail. 
  These acrobats know where the food is, too; in the bird-feeder, of course.  And, they've figured out that when the kitchen light goes on upon a winter morning, I'm near the food supply.  I used to have a bird-feeder that attached to the outside window sill.  Squirrels have been known to knock on that window to let me know when it was out of sunflower seeds!  Always about 30 seconds after I turn on the kitchen light - they had to be watching for me.  Now, a feeder is near the porch and the squirrels sometimes are on the steps in the mornings, looking expectantly at the door.  They aren't alone, either.  I've seen bird and rabbit footprints in fresh snow there. 
     hardly Dumb Beasts!