Like many people, we have lots of squirrels scampering around our yard. They are fun to watch, although I must admit I don’t care for it when they eat all the bird seed out of our bird feeder. I am fine if they eat it off of the ground though.

In my paper sculpture design, “On My Soapbox,” I wanted to create a habitat for this furry little squirrel where he would look right at home. I imagined he is living in a wooded forest area that has maple trees and oak trees in it. I included some fallen maple leaves and oak leaves laying on the ground. It is the start of the autumn season so the leaves are showing a tinge of orange. The squirrel is holding one of the acorns that fell on the ground. I am sure he is going to hide that acorn so he can look for it later on. This realistic, wooded habitat is made entirely out of painted paper — even the squirrel is made out of paper.

The idea of fallen acorns remind me of a house I once lived at that had large tall oak trees on my property and all around my neighborhood. The one year, there was such a bumper crop of acorns on the trees that as the leaves began to fall in autumn, so did the acorns! Between the squirrels running across the roof of the house and all those acorns falling off the branches of the oak trees, it made so much noise, you would have thought that maybe there was a burglar on the roof!

But, not to worry, this squirrel in “On My Soapbox” is not up to any mischief. He is collecting acorns and trying to decide where to hide them all before the winter sets in.