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I'm a children's author. Animals are a constant source of writing material for me. They are also my heart!

Raining Squirrels

>> Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Just so you know, I posted this on Saturday, May 2nd. My sister-in-law (who is much more the blogger than me) saved my photo in a draft so I could get to it easily.

At any rate, let me tell you about the day it rained squirrels...really and truly.

It was spring and I was home doing nothing for once in a blue moon. I was actually enjoying the act of being still and then the phone rang.

"Jan," said my friend Anita, "Can you come over here right now?"

"Why?" I asked as I gulped the last of my iced tea.

"Because," said Anita, "Squirrels are falling out of my tree and landing on the glass top table on my deck!"

"What kind of squirrels?" I asked, still feeling a bit lazy.

"Naked baby squirrels!" Anita shrieked. "Get over here now!"

That was the beginning of a long day. Somehow (and I'm still not sure how) I found the number of a squirrel man. I called and asked him the best course of action.

"Get the babies and put them in a shoebox at the base of their tree. Keep an eye on them to make sure no cats or dogs get too close. Their mother will come get them," the squirrel man assured me.

So, I did as the squirrel man said. I got the three naked babies and put them in a box at the base of their tree. Anita and I stood in her kitchen window and waited and waited and watched and watched.

In about an hour, the squirrel man's prediction came true. The mother squirrel inched down the tree and one by one, took her babies in her mouth, back up to their nest.

Inside, Anita and I were thrilled. We actually clapped with joy but our elation didn't make it past a high five. Plop. Plop. Plop. Just like big raindrops, the babies fell again. It wasn't a short fall either. These babies fell from high up in the treetop. I couldn't believe they weren't hurt, but they weren't, so we began the process again.

And again.

And again.

We were finally exhausted. We had had enough. I was just getting ready to tell Anita that I'd take the babies home and bottle feed them when (you're not going to believe this one) another squirrel came from the yard next door and took the babies to a nest in a different tree.

I called the squirrel man back. "Squirrel man," I said. "What's going on here? Our babies have just been squirrelnapped."

The squirrel man was as calm as Anita and I were frantic. "It's not unusual for a squirrel father to get involved," he said. "He probably found a bigger nest and decided to move the whole dang family."

The squirrel man must have been right. The mother squirrel and her babies settled into their new nest in an upscale tree and lived the high life.

Anita went back to whatever she had been doing and I went home. After it quit raining squirrels it was a good day to do nothing.

9 comments:

Anonymous May 3, 2009 at 11:57 AM  

Oh my goodness!!
That's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time! I'm still smiling!

I wonder if that would work on my husband...maybe if I just throw him out of the window a few times?? *winks*

(I love your new blog!)

Bethany May 3, 2009 at 4:48 PM  

Wow! I'm so glad you visited my blog. This story gave me goosebumps. I am awestruck. I also LOVE happy endings, esp with animals (I hear too many sad ones) and was on the edge of my seat, as this story (plop plop plop) didn't seem like it was going to go well. You made me laugh too. You're a fantastic writer. Great blog!!!!!

Glue Girl May 3, 2009 at 6:17 PM  

That is too funny! I cannot believe that squirrel dads get involved. It's too bad that she (mama) had to resort to throwing the babies out so many times to get his attention, but maybe he was watching the race . . .
(And yes, the mermaid doll is totally mine)

marianne May 3, 2009 at 8:31 PM  

thanks for visiting my blog. i've enjoyed reading yours. the squirrel story is pretty funny- glad it had a happy ending.

Sandy May 3, 2009 at 10:16 PM  

OMG...I never heard the end of this story, only the beginning and the box; didn't realize you did it multiple times and certainly never heard about Dad next door and "Moving on UP" to the east side with a de--lux apt....lol

Love the story, Glad the putting pictures in the draft area worked for you. I'll show you how to do a cut and paste in html so you have the date on the day you want it next time. Remind me.

Hugs...pssssss check travelingsuitcase..I'm linking to ya.

ern May 5, 2009 at 2:24 PM  

Thats too funny
Ern

T May 5, 2009 at 3:31 PM  

Oh wow! I really needed this smile today!

Thank you for visiting my blog, and the nice comment. I apologize for my delay in responding, we have had great sadness the past week, as we had just lost one of our very special dogs.:(

Love your blogs, both of them. Hope you don't mind me following.

Dana May 5, 2009 at 6:15 PM  

Thanks so much for the invite to your blog. I love squirrels!! I feed them in my yard and just had an incident with my beloved furry daughter ( dog) trying to get one. I always wondered what to do if babies fall from the tree. Now I know:)

Anonymous May 10, 2009 at 9:57 PM  

What an interesting (and heartwarming) story! Learn something new every day. We have lots of squirrels too. The other day I saw one with a very short, almost hairless tail. Wonder what happened to it ...

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