A Nutty Story

What in the world could be so fascinating on the patio as to hold the attention of our 3 cats?

Aha, a squirrel!  

You might be asking yourself . . . why does she have a caged squirrel on her patio? Good question. My sister who is part owner of a veterinarian clinic recruited us to finish raising this baby squirrel who was displaced from his nest.

Such a sweet little face...don't you think? 

I can hear you squirrel non-likers out their....ugh, a rodent. I've always liked squirrels (even though they can be a pest on the bird feeders) but, Nutty (named by my daughter) has stolen my heart. Each morning when I checked on him he'd slip his adorable little face out from beneath his blankie and give me a big yawn. When you live with a small piece of the 'wild' it changes your attitude about it completely.

Once he got big enough we hung his cage beneath a large tree and wired the door open so he could come and go until he got used to his surroundings.

He was slow to venture on to the top of his cage and then on to the tree.

But he quickly was enjoying his freedom and was busy snatching insects off the tree trunk.

After a week he was still sleeping in his cage and I was a little fearful that another animal or snake would trap him in there, so I purchased a birdfeeder and took the plastic sides off. We transferred his blanket into it so he would continue to feel safe. One morning when I went back to check on him he popped his little head out from under his blankie.

With each passing day he would climb a little higher into the tree to check out his new neighborhood.

He continued to be happy to see us and would eagerly jump on my daughter's arm.

and head.

Three weeks passed and he was still hanging around the same tree.

 Last week we couldn't find him around his home and tree, so we wondered if he finally took off for good.

But on Sunday as we walked past the small oak tree in our front yard a small squirrel ran down the trunk and looked at us. We stopped and said, "Nutty" and as my daughter approached him he eagerly reached out for her hand. She kept rubbing his head and picking him up and he seemed genuinely happy to see her. We wondered how in the world he came from the backyard all the way up to the front which is approximately 125 yards. But, nonetheless, we were delighted to see that he is still around and still remembers us.

It looks like he's successful in finding his own acorns and is quickly growing up. Raising him was another fun experience since the time we raised "Chirp" the bluejay. We hope he continues to remember us and be friendly with us when we're out in the yard.