Whale Bone

Integral cog of
The mighty leviathan 
Once adrift at sea
Now ashore in piney woods
A squirrel’s tolerant neighbor 




For several weeks (at least) a squirrel has been by just about the same time each evening to chew away at this bone off in the woods near the house. Sort of like a calcium vitamin, I suppose. It's amusing to be going about one's business, notice a repetitive gnawing sound coming from the outside, and know it's this little red squirrel over at the vertebrae. I can just picture him in a burrow across the way visiting the squirrel doctor and being told "You, sir, need more calcium in your diet. I want you to visit the whale bone once a day and gnaw for two minutes. Keep this up until they put the bird feeder up, then come back and see me again."