Yeah, me neither.
At 8:15 last night, I was sitting on the couch talking to A. and trying to summon the energy to go to bed when I caught a flashing glimpse of a scurrying animal in the adjoining library. And then there was our little buddy, staring up at me from under a chair only about five feet away.
"Dammit," I said. "There's that squirrel again. It's looking at me."
A. got up to herd it into the dining room and hopefully out the door--again--but instead it ran into the downstairs bedroom.
At this point, the MiL reminded A. that he had a live trap for squirrels up in the attic that might be useful. So A. baited the trap with peanut butter, put it in the bedroom, and shut the door. He also carefully placed a small bowl of water in the room, thinking the squirrel would surely be thirsty after its adventures.
A. apparently harbors a soft spot for flying squirrels. He informed me that some people keep them as pets, getting them as babies and wearing them in special little bonding pouches to establish a relationship. I just had to look that up, and was reassured to see that flying squirrels are indeed considered a most gentle rodent and very good pets if properly cared for early on.
Still, when I came down this morning and found this in the trap, I was not tempted to try to carry it around in a pouch next to my heart in hopes of establishing a relationship.
Sorry, little dude; I am not the rodent bonding sort.
But my new knowledge of the cuddliness of flying squirrels enabled me to carry the trap outside and open it to let the squirrel out without fear that it would fly out and attach itself to my face, which, you may remember, is a persistent fear I have about most wild animals.
Yes, I'm aware this is an unlikely scenario with any animal, but we all have our things.
Anyway, the squirrel has been definitely released back into the great outdoors and thus ends our time as a flying squirrel haven.
Except for the ones in the attic. Those I guess will be staying.
You should have added one more step that your dad uses on the pack rats we catch in our cages in the back yard. Spray it's tail with florescent orange paint. That way, if he (or she) comes back, you know it's your special squirrel. Or not.
ReplyDeleteYou're a very brave girl, and we're all proud of you. I won't touch the rat cages, much less drive them out to the wilderness and hope they don't run at my feet when the cage door is opened.
Were Cubby and Charlie disappointed to have missed this morning's action?
ReplyDeleteThey didn't even know about it. The trap was set after they went to bed and I released the squirrel before they got up. I wanted to make sure it had plenty of darkness left to get food or whatever before it went into its daytime torpor.
ReplyDeleteBut I bet they would have loved to have seen the squirrel up close, yes.
I hope the substance on the floor next to the trap, which appeared to be shredded insulation, wasn't crucial for the household to stay warm this winter!
ReplyDelete