We walked on the beach for a while, then returned to the picnic area nestled on the hillside. Here we enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the beautiful ocean view as we waited for our burgers to cook. Little did we know the entertainment would be live and free! Although living with Kimi in our midsts we should have known better!

We had brought with us a large bag of peanuts for munching on and either the crunching of the shells or the smell of the salt brought out the ground squirrels in droves. The boys and I sat at our picnic table watching them scurry around begging for handouts. Kimi lay between my feet guarding me from these noisy, chattering, begging pests. Can you believe a couple of them were almost her size?? She watched them diligently as they climbed over one another trying to reach the best peanuts first. Never having been so close to a squirrel before, Kimi seemed a bit confused as to whether they were friend or foe. Being the smart little Sheltie she is, she just watched them for a while. Not being one to judge someone or something for how they look or act, Kimi was willing to give them a chance to prove themselves as friendly creatures.

Soon the squirels grew braver and came in closer looking for more peanuts, but as long as they kept their distance Kimi remained quiet and still. A few times one dark nosed squirrel came in too close for her comfort and Kimi would whimper. I would reach down and stroke her soft head to reassure her and Kimi would raise her soft liquid eyes in question. She would then relax, knowing mommy was close by.

As our count of hungry nosey squirrels grew to eight, the dark nosed one kept coming up to inspect my toes. Either I have funny looking toes, or this squirrel was near sighted! With me wearing only sandles, Kimi feared for the safety of my toes and quickly lost all fear of these funny looking, demanding pests. Leaping to all fours each time the squirrel sniffed my feet, Kimi would let out a sharp "YIP!" (meaning GO!)

The squirel never backed off far so Kimi simply sat between my feet watching him closer. The squirrel sat up on it's hind-end, with his front feet curled against it's chest and set about chattering at Kimi. Kimi looked at me quickly upon hearing this strange noise, sporting a confused but amused look on her face, and cocked her head to the right listening intently. She quivered and whined once or twice, then began chattering back! She sounded so much like the squirrel that she stunned us all, human and squirrels alike, into a brief silence! When she realized what she could do, she looked at me with a huge grin, her tiny pink tongue lolling from the side of her mouth and did it again! We all laughed, but I am not so sure the squirrels were as amused. I guess at this point Kimi decided if you can't beat 'em...join 'em, and with this she laid down and began to eat a peanut! I knew Kimi was a little 'squirrely', but even for her this was a bit too much!

Keeping a close eye on each other, Kimi and the squirrel chewed their peanuts until once again the squirrel moved in too close. Up to her feet she jumped and 'yipped' out a loud command. The dark nosed critter had decided that either her bark was worse than her bite, or he had seen the leash and was smart enough to know Kimi couldn't reach him, so he stayed where he was, unafraid. Kimi lay back down, chattering out her frustrations to him.

Curiosity took over his common sense and slowly the squirrel crept toward where Kimi lay. Dropping her peanut, Kimi watched, and as we all held our breath, Kimi belly crawled toward the squirrel. Imagine our surprise when the two actually came nose to nose!! Kimi's little quivering dark nose was pressed against a softer smaller but equally quivering nose. For several secnds they 'stood' their ground. Then imagine the squirrels surprise when, still nose to nose so close they were almost cross-eyed, Kimi let out her loudest sharpest "YIP!" she could muster up!

The squirrel jumped...all four feet leaving the ground at the same time, ears raised straight up in shock, and his tail going ram-rod straight out behind him! I didn't know a squirrels eyes could get so big! He let out an ear piercing bark and quickly scrambled to safety. Having succeeded in scaring months off this poor animals life, Kimi threw back her head and let out one more softer "YIP" and rolled over on her back laughing. Her tongue curled and dropped over her teeth from the side of her mouth and as she rolled to her side, you could hear puffy breathes of laughter coming from her.

Well satisfied that she had conquered yet another unchartered territory and made the world a safer place for us...and for our toes too, Kimi drifted off into a happy contended sleep, soaking up the warm sunshine in peace.

Moral to this story: Never be afraid to see someone different then you as a potential friend, and seek out fun in all you do.

Kristi & Kimi