Yesterday Makoto, Tevye, and Hana were all fixated on a single tree in our neighbor’s yard. Curious, Yumi and I looked a little closer:

It was a fat little squirrel munching on an acorn while sitting on a branch. I snapped a photo with my phone. Trying to get a little closer to get a better picture, the little fella left the lunch room.

Recently if we want to get the dogs (and Makoto) outside quickly, we simply yell, 「リス！」 リス risu is squirrel in Japanese.

The kanji (hardly ever used) is fun:

栗鼠 【りす】 Chestnut (栗) and Mouse (鼠)

It was a silly thing to do, but 栗鼠 was actually one of the first kanji I learned. I don’t think I could write it now, but I remember using it to show off my amazing kanji skills in front of a Junior High class in Japan. I’m sure it looked horrible and I really messed up the stroke order, but they got a kick out of that.

Who knows, maybe the squirrel above was really munching on a chestnut?