Animal Life Sightings

[Jimaz]

The sound of a bird was reportedly coming from the basement. I didn't believe that was possible since we're always careful to close the doors to keep mice out. I thought it might be the freezer door which squeaks or one of the spare smoke detectors in the basement which had made a similar "low-battery" chirp before. I heard a few loud chirps and was able to narrow it down to somewhere near the furnace. Then I heard a scratching sound in the furnace flue that goes to the chimney! It must be a bird after all!

I quickly turned off the furnace and began disassembling the flue. I shined a flashlight into the part that goes toward the chimney. Nothing. I turned it around to peek into the furnace side and saw ... a sock?! How on earth did that get there?! [[I had expected feathers.) Wait. That's no sock. That's fur! A bat?! Who cares. It has to go.

I wrapped the flue with a big garbage bag to contain the problem and continued removing it from the furnace. I took the whole package to the back yard and opened it up to find a baby squirrel! It was about 6 inches from head to tailbase. It looked okay but it wasn't moving. Being careful not to get my scent on it, I tucked it under a bush to hide it from predators. It was looking at me but not moving. I thought I can't just leave it there to die from dehydration! I found a sponge and soaked it and put it under his nose. He ignored it. He started moving, then crawling on wobbly legs. Then he started following me around!

It dawned on me that I had just witnessed a baby squirrel taking its very first steps! As he climbed on top of my shoes I noticed a similarly-colored adult squirrel watching from a distance. A parent? I backed away and sure enough the big squirrel went to the baby and gently prodded and cuddled it. Then it gently bit the baby's stomach and the baby curled around the parent's face. [[I didn't know squirrels carried their young like that.) The big squirrel then carried it to the big maple and climbed away. I watched for a while to make sure it didn't go back to the chimney. It didn't. We'll be listening to the furnace to make sure they don't return.

Soon after this happened, I saw a baby rabbit about the same size in the hedge.

What animals have you spotted?