The Princess Effect?

We live in an area with lots of trees and wildlife.  And since we feed the birds -- and by default the squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons -- we have a lot of critters that have made their homes close to the free food court. 

Today I spent most of the day outside by myself painting and sanding quietly, and discovered that apparently I’m a source of entertainment for the outside crowd.

Feeling I was being watched, I looked up at one point to find a squirrel staring at me intently.  I said hello, and the squirrel scurried off.  But a bit later two squirrels were nonchalantly walking across the driveway when they both stopped to stare at my work. Then a Blue Jay landed fairly close by and squawked at me. When the chipmunk showed up I started feeling like Cinderella.

Or was it Snow White?

Whichever … one of those Disney princesses who we all wanted to dress up like on Halloween when we were little girls (and probably some little boys), and who may or may not have screwed up a generation of women depending on which psychologist you listen to. They always had little animals hanging around them to help them sew a dress or something.

Anyway I felt like I should be trilling opera or at least humming.  Not that I looked or felt like a princess, especially covered in sweat, paint and dust from sanding.  But I did feel for just a moment that I was somehow communing with nature and that my new little friends were admiring my work … And I can’t even claim heatstroke or paint fumes because a cloud cover and a slight breeze kept the day from getting too hot, and I was using chalk paint which doesn’t have any noxious fumes.

In any case, I got a lot done and I’m sure the side tables I was working on are the talk of the animal kingdom! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.