I grew up with
squirrels both red and gray.
The red squirrels were the smaller of the two,
and their movements were so jerky and birdlike
that they made me laugh.

Then I spent a little over a year
outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
And was startled to encounter squirrels
so dark in fur coloring
that they appeared black.
Never saw black squirrels anyplace else.

Austin, Texas is positively
alive with squirrels,
but they are all greyish-brown.