Short glimpses into the life of a squirrel - 6/2/24

This has been a wonderful year for red squirrels. I have a few babies that have been coming to hang out with us and it is lovely! I have a bird feeder hanging up on the tree and as the birds drop the sunflower seeds the squirrels close in.

This little guy lets me get way too close. I love it because I can see the details of his body so much better when I'm closer. Just beautiful!

Here is one of the siblings chattering at me from the clothesline. This one is a little bit more fearful of me so it is constantly chattering at me in the hopes of that I will leave.

Looking forward to all of their little furry souls coming back tomorrow for a snack and some sun.

The Sound of Squirrels

There is a small family of red squirrels currently living in my shop. The little babies do not show very much fear in my presence so I've been able to get decently close. However they are more than willing to yell at me if I want to go into the shed itself. They are really adorable! I am so grateful to be able to hear the sound of squirrels chittering again. When Minion used to be able to get out of the house more often he would try to kill any squirrel he could find. For a few years I couldn't hear much chittering at all. I'm so grateful the ecosystem was able to bounce back a little bit!

February Squirrels

I have been so lucky that the squirrel population has been slowing recovering after the horrible massacre a few years ago. I have been doing everything that I can do to help the population regrow including keeping the cats inside- I should have always made that a higher priority and I am glad that I finally have-and making sure that there is lots of food available. THe local squirrels have started to really pay attention to my birdfeeder and I leave food on the ground so that the squirrels can get the food without continueing to destroy the hanging feeder. There is still a small amount of snow here, but all the birds and squirrels seem to appreciate the extra help as spring starts to show its warmer and wetter "head."

Many of the grey squirrels look like they have not missed any meals, but I really want to feed them because the population has really not bounced back yet- it's still too 'quiet' during the summer.

I've seen a few red squirrels out there as well so hopefully I can hear more squirrel chatter this summer. That would be great! I would enjoy that very much.

There is Special Providence in the Fall of a Squirrel...

Today, I caused death. Not intentionally and I certainly am not bragging... but unintentional or not, I killed a squirrel. I did the usual try and slow down...swerve a little... all the things that you do while driving at 25 miles an hour and panicking as you see the squirrel leap lightly into the road in front of you and start to run. But, unfortunately for the squirrel and myself, everything I did was not enough and I hit him. And, while I was going fairly slowly, it appeared to be a quick death.

I feel so uncomfortable with the idea that my actions, unintentional or not can cause hurt, pain, or in this case death. I pulled over to the side of the road and my first thought was “Father, please change this.” My next was “why did I leave the house so early? If I had been a few seconds later.....” That kind of thinking is foolhardy and certainly didn't change the situation at all. I recognize that I may do this to people (hurt, not death) on a fairly frequent basis and that thought is overwhelming and uncomfortably sad. And, as I sat by the side of the road, I think the grief that I have been feeling for weeks just flooded into me and I couldn’t do anything, but climb out of my car and carefully cradle the squirrel in my hands and just sit by the side of the road and cry. I cried for the loss of the squirrel but also my losses and my fears and I just cried. I must have looked a wreck and half crazy... just kneeling by the side of the road, crying and praying and holding this poor dead animal. I eventually wrapped the squirrel in a holey t-shirt and buried it under the snow underneath a beautiful tree and headed off to town to 'fulfill' my responsibilities and commitments.... but throughout the day I could feel the grief sitting so close to the surface of my heart and the tears barely behind my eyelids.

I have to find a way through this grief. I am so far behind in school it isn't funny and I just feel like -nothing-. Just nothing. I do not feel like doing anything and I am just going through some of the motions and pasting a smile on my face and trying not to be angry because that won't help. I frankly do not feel like continuing to endure. I know this sounds funny, but in a way I am so glad that I hit the squirrel because I think I was forced to not only grieve but think about my choices and what I want right now. But I do wish that I could have learned the lesson some other way.