Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for December 20, 2019

But if Connie allowed him out in the front yard, he’d get hauled away by the looney squad in a jiffy.

He’s fomenting a rodent rebellion.

Carl is the squirrel king!

Carl has been like this ever since that squirrel bit him in ‘64

The neighbors are missing a great show.

Nuts to you!

& I’d probably raise the fence a bit too.

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t…sometimes you ARE A NUT, sometimes you’re not.

I dunno…

If she’d let him sit in the front yard, and maybe convince him to pass out …. say, Hershey kisses….

(not cookies, cos dogs and squirrels would be begging, and not baby carrots cos… well… carrots… )

they could make a lot of new friends.

Or maybe Connie doesn’t want new friends…. especially if she thinks they’ll turn out to be fair-weather friends who only showed up for the chocolate.

How about …um…. cheese cubes?

No, I can see problems with that.

In any case, it’s quite possible she doesn’t want Carl hauled off to the loony bin…

She might be protecting him by keeping him out back.

You know, here on Ballard Street, madness isn’t quite the deal-breaker it can be in other places.

In fact, in some people it’s treasured, …. and in others, at least well tolerated.

Why do you think I never want to move away?

Too many squirrels?

Because Connie won’t let Carl out front,

it’s the back yard that’s bearing the brunt.

Her own Chippendale, with his great bushy tail,

is the king of The Squirrel Nut Hunt…

Connie knows to encourage this will only bring more critters. It starts small but soon you will have musk oxen and wildebeest wanting snacks

Next time, try Cheetos. Squirrels LOVE those.

So he is a “Furry” from the really bad Christmas movie “Potter’sville” – I’ll be shocked if anyone catches the reference…

He’s as squirrely as the other nuts around him.