My Squirrel friend

Two weeks ago, I wrote about a squirrel I met in my yard. The day after I wrote that blog about him, he came for a visit . . . and much to my delight, he has visited me every day since then.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how happy it makes me when I see him (might be a sign that I am finally ready to get another dog, since I seem so happy with his companionship) :-) I have found myself sitting in the backyard more often lately, because if I'm out there, he'll come by 3, 4 or 5 times, and he'll just hang out for a bit while I talk to him.

Sometimes, when I am on the phone, he'll come down and pretend he's going to dig in one of my pots. He'll stay there, not doing any actual digging, until I notice him and once I open the door and whisper "You remember you're not supposed to dig in my flower pots, right?" he'll excitedly run back up the fence. It's as if he just wants me to notice him.

Some mornings, I wake up and find him sitting on the back fence right outside the back patio door. It's as if he's waiting for me to get up. When he's there, I open the door and say good morning to him and he'll sit there for a minute, looking at me, and then casually walk down the fence.

Originally, I always knew he was my special squirrel friend because he walked very oddly. His arms and legs were farther out to the sides than most squirrels . . . so he almost looked more like a frog, with his belly closer to the ground. But while watching him this weekend, I realized he doesn't walk that way anymore. His arms and legs are tighter under his body, the way the rest of the squirrels look and it made me wonder if he was injured when I first met him . . . and if he started coming around so much because he needed some healing. I can't think of any other explanation for why he walks and runs so differently but now when he runs down the fence, he bounds just like the other squirrels and it makes me happy to know that he's feeling better.

Yesterday, he came by and hung out for about 20 minutes while I was sitting in the backyard working on the crossword puzzle. I decided I wanted to take a picture of him and asked if he'd mind sitting still while I did that. My sweet little friend was kind enough to hang out long enough for me to get my camera and snap several photos of him. He was so cute about it, he looked like he was actually enjoying his photo shoot, giving me several different poses. This one is my favorite. I have decided to call him Chester. I figured if we were going to spend this much time together, he ought to have a name other than "my squirrel friend."

I do think it's probably a sign that I am ready to get another dog. It will be interesting to see what the coming weeks have in store for me . . . but for the time being, I am happy to have Chester around to visit with. I hope he'll continue to come by for his daily visits.

Squirrels

I met a squirrel the other day that had me smiling so much, that I have found myself hoping I will see him again. Normally, I am not all that thrilled about having squirrels in my yard, because they dig up my daffodil bulbs, kill flowers that are still blooming and generally make a mess with all the dirt they throw around. When I see them in the yard, I remind them that I would like them to refrain from digging in my flower pots and usually they quickly run off - up the fence and out of sight.

So a month ago, I was sitting in the yard, doing the crossword puzzle and enjoying the sun, when a bold little squirrel walked right over to a flower pot three feet away from me and started digging away. I said "Hey, what are you doing?" He jumped out of the pot and stepped up on the deck and I thought he was going to tear out of the yard but instead he stopped, turned around and just looked at me.

I stood up and took a few steps towards him and he didn't flinch, which was odd, since the squirrels usually high tail it out of my yard if I move. I took another step towards him and then crouched down next to the deck, so we were eye level. I explained how I felt about he and his squirrel friends messing up my yard and killing my flowers and asked him if he would please leave my flower pots alone. He sat there, calmly looking at me and appearing to understand every word that I said, so I got up and sat back down in my chair.

As soon as my eyes focused back on the crossword puzzle, I heard a noise and looked up to find him in the flower pot again, throwing dirt at an accelerated pace, removing most of the pedals from the flower closest to him. Again, I got up and walked towards him and again, he moved up to the deck, only a foot away from the pot, so I crouched down and tried explaining one more time how much I wanted him to leave my flowers alone. He continued to look me in the eye and what I picked up from him was a mixture of understanding as well as determination - for as much as he got what I was saying and wanted to comply, he had a goal and he wasn't going to stop until he achieved that goal.

This little guy was fiercely determined and it's a quality I possess myself from time to time, when something it really important to me, so I couldn't really fault him for it. It made me laugh and I said, "OK, I get it - you really want the nut that is buried in the flower pot, so how about if you let ME fish it out for you because I think I can do it without making such a mess." He just looked at me but I swear, I could tell he liked that idea.

I reached into the pot, dug around a bit and found the nut he was looking for. I rolled it over towards him and smiled as I said, "Here you go sweetheart, now will you stay out of my flowers?" He excitedly grabbed the nut and then once again, just sat there looking at me.

I thanked him for letting me help out and told him that if he ever needed my assistance again, to just let me know. I said I'd be happy to do the "digging" for him, since I could help save my flowers that way. He turned around to leave twice, and both times changed his mind after a step or two and walked back towards me. He was so calm and peaceful and I could feel his gratitude. It may sound odd but I think we both felt like we had made a new friend that day.