Seeking out Sammy ..... Back to the Botanics

The hottest day of the year so far saw the Botanics sweltering in temperatures almost alien to this part of the country. Dripping ice-creams decorated the faces of children out to enjoy the sunshine, people lay stretched out on the manicured lawns soaking up summer whilst others vied for every inch of shade beneath the towering trees, bees busied themselves collecting pollen from the many flowers swayed gently by the softest of breezes ........ yes, a truly beautiful day. So quiet, so peaceful, bustling city streets but a footstep away yet appearing so distant in the still of the afternoon. So difficult to believe this is the heart of Edinburgh - so alive, so vibrant, so cosmopolitan.
Not the ideal day to seek out Sammy but worth a try nonetheless. Not a sun worshipper - I guess it's not the kind of thing squirrels do - he was not scurrying around, hurrying here and there as is his custom. No, today I came across him resting beneath the magnificent Juniperus Rigida, an amazing tree in the form of a giant umbrella. There he was, laid back in a deckchair, a glass of his very best homemade blackberry wine in one hand and a pine cone lolly in the other. Gone was the tartan scarf and tam o'shanter, replaced by a smart pair of tartan shorts and a pair of river-reed sandals.
"So it's here at last ..... summer ...... hot days, sticky, sleepless nights, tossing and turning. Is it all worth it I ask myself, or is this summer business every bit as bad as the rain, the wind and the snow. Like an oven my drey is. Gonna wake up one morning roasted squirrel. Shouldn't complain, I suppose. Been waiting long enough to put me wellies away and get me shorts out."
Sammy sipped his drink, closed his eyes for a second as if to collect his thoughts, then off he went once more.
"It's okay for them ducks, in and out the water all the time. Been watching Mrs Duck trying to control her young 'uns. Scrabbling between the rocks, getting tangled up in the reeds, pinching bread from the moorhens. Right handful they are. Not like mine. Grown up and gone ...... although they do reappear every now and then when the nuts run out!! Never really get rid of them, do you. Squirrels can't be doing with water you know ...... gets under the tail, in the ears,
everywhere you don't want it to be. If I want a wet face, I'll have a wash."
With the afternoon getting hotter and hotter, the need to find liquid sustenance was taking priority over my chat with Sammy. Leaving him to his shady repose, I ventured back into the sunlight. How tempting the pond looked, how refreshing it would have been to stand under the waterfall and take a cool shower. Just a quick paddle, a swift dip ...... no, that is not how grown ups behave in the Botanic Gardens. It is surprising how few days of near-tropical conditions you need before gardens start to take on an almost desert-like appearance and cry out for rain. And how little blistering sunshine you need before one turns into a water-seeking lunatic. Why, I wonder, are we not conditioned to sweat ice-cold droplets of water when the weather reaches a certain temperature (or indeed perspire if you are a lady)? Not only would you keep cool, but body odour would be a thing of the past. Science is going forward in leaps and bounds ....... so how about a cold sweat pill. Just a thought ......... maybe the sun is getting to me and I need a drink ...... any drink as long as it is cold and wet! Is that an oasis I see at the top of the hill, a mirage, the sun playing tricks on my shrivelled brain? Or perhaps it is merely the Terrace Cafe, a welcoming respite from the heat of the day, beckoning my wilting body ever onwards. Crazy? Me? Never ...... well perhaps just an iota ........