Creature feature I

Last summer a squirrel nested in our tree and had two offspring which we named, characteristically, FluffyTail and KinkyTail. The mother was lost while they were still very young and they headed into the winter very thin – not a good idea for a squirrell.

Being these squirrels are extremely civilized, we built them a table at which they could dine on corn cobs over the winter. They largely ignored the table until spring, very successfully relying on their innate skills.

FluffyTail returns now only rarely but KinkyTail stays close to the old hold and Will loves to announce, “KinkyTaiwz heeya!” when he bounces across our yard (the squirrel… Well, also Will).

This is a very, very tame squirrel – probably our fault since we’ve been carrying on with the squirrel since it first came down from the nest (at about half the size as now!).

No doubt KinkyTail would like nothing more than to kick back in the lazy-boy with a bag of peanuts and a Carlsburg in front of the tv but Jen would probably throw us all out if that happened.

As it is, the squirrel has taken to sheltering on our front porch during heavy rains – which is often since Michigan has become a temperate, precipitative zone.

Eastern gray squirrels come in gray, black and rusty red models and prefer to run on a steady diet of peanuts.