Squirrels.

Remember the squirrel that I told you about last week…the one that was living in our attic?  Well, we had put a squirrel trap up in our attic last year to try and “fix” the whole squirrel extravaganza.  I had forgotten that we did that….until yesterday morning.

I was reading emails enjoying my yummy cup of coffee when my fella came in all flushed:

My Fella:  “Well, we caught the squirrel!”

Me:  “Oh no!!!!  Is it okay???”
My Fella:  “I don’t know, I can’t see it.  I can hear it.”
Me:  “Poor little fella must be scared!”
My Fella:  “Uh…I suppose so.  But, what do we do with it now???”
Me:  “I dunno!  I guess we release it?  Maybe at the lake?  Oh no.  What if it has family here?  What if it doesn’t get along with the other squirrels at the lake?  What if it can’t find a cozy home???  It is supposed to rain today!!!!!”

Dear Readers…I swear that my brain goes to these places where I humanize animals.  I can’t help it!  It’s like the animal world is a “Wind in the Willows” book.  All the animals have little homes with little “welcome” mats outside thier little tree nooks…little fire places where they sit in their little chairs and drink cups of tea.  I think I spent too many years with little kids 😉

Anyway, back to the story at hand.

My fella had to take off for work and so that left me to deal with our little friend.  I climbed up the ladder with a little flash light and took a peek at the squirrel.

Me: “Hi there!  Are you ok?”

Squirrel:  Stood very still and didn’t seem to what to chat.

Me:  “I am going to get you down…don’t worry!  And then we will let you free at the park.  It’s a nice park…with trees and a pretty lake and all sorts of other squirrels.  Maybe you can make some new friends and find a new home to hang out in.  Cuz, we can’t have you here anymore!”

Squirrel:  Staring at me without blinking….not moving.  Not very chatty.

I climbed down the ladder and went to get my son.  He very carefully grabbed the cage and very carefully lifted it down and put it on the floor of the garage.  That is when the squirrel started to freak out.  It threw itself against the walls of the cage and we were afraid that it would get hurt…luckily, my brain was working and I ran into the house to get a towel to cover the cage.  That helped right away.  The little fella quieted down.

Next, my son and I went into the kitchen to figure out what to give it too eat.  We couldn’t give it any water…cuz it wouldn’t let us into the cage….so, we settled on raw almonds and apple slices.  We carefully cuts the apple up and picked out the perfect almonds.  We wanted our little friend to be as comfy as possible.

Jump ahead a few hours later….my fella gets home.  We carefully pick up the cage and put it into the car.  Our little furry friend has eaten most of the apples and only a little of the almonds.  Maybe I should have given him the teriaki almonds….oh well!  Off we go to the park to find the perfect spot to release our little friend.  We find a great spot…with trees and an open area…with views of the water.  If I was a squirrel, I would like it a lot!!!

Now, here is where things got a little tricky.

We couldn’t figure out how to open the cage.  And my fella was afraid that the squirrel would attack him.  He is from Queens NY and they don’t hang with squirrels there!  I figured that the squirrel was my friend so I said that I would open the cage.  I wasn’t scared.  But no.  My fella wanted to conquer his fear.  So, I stood back and cheered him on:)

After awhile, we figured it out.  Opened the cage and the squirrel ran out…and bounded away from us and ran up a tree.  We had some apple slices left over, so we left them there in case he wanted a snack later.  We said “goodbye” and waved and drove away.

This morning we are heading out to go for a walk around the lake.

I hope we get to see our little furry friend.

I will know which squirrel it is…I mean come on…we bonded!

I am sure of it!