I Love Miss Jean Bunny Even Though She’s a Squirrel

Squirrels, those furry, long-tailed rascals that chip to each other, flick their tails in the presence of danger and often jump into trees, are cute and trainable — but only within reason.

I’ve had a recent experience with one particular squirrel I call “Miss Jean Bunny” (Bunny for short) because she has only a nub of a tail and hops like a rabbit. When I call, she leaves her nest in a nearby tree and runs to get the peanuts I feed her. She is not without pests of her own; squirrels are covetous of food and they always chase her. Feeding her is a delight and, when she occasionally disappears for days, we worry about her.

Squirrel Memories

I remembered two distinct other instances where squirrels had been in my life, in some manner. The first was when a very young nephew of mine became the caregiver of a young squirrel that found in his family’s garage. The mother and the other squirrel pups met an untimely end. Someone in the home tried to get the squirrel family out of the garage. It was a fatal mistake; they left the car running in the closed garage. The person’s thought was that the squirrels would scramble out of there — but they didn’t.

The lone survivor was Rocky, a cute little three-week-old squirrel that taken into the home and given a little cage, soft bedding and loving…