Saturday, and Jasmine the Squirrel

Saturday was a great day. The weather was so nice, and the kids made a beeline for the outdoors. They are really enjoying the play yard, and that morning Geoff cleaned out the sandbox too. New sand went in, and they are in business. Spring is officially here!

As a big bonus, Uncle BB came by to borrow the lawnmower and spent some time pushing the kids on their swings... he's gonna be a great Daddy someday!

I spent the morning cleaning up the house a little, and Geoff was cutting grass. I heard him yelling for me from the front lawn. When I got there he showed me this little squirrel in our ivy patch. He got up from the mower and I expected it to run for his life, but it just looked up at Geoff with curiosity.

Geoff put his hand out and that little thing leaped up on his arm and went up to his chest! I was so taken aback I wasn't sure what to say. I almost felt like we were in a Disney Princess movie where all the animals are friendly like this... by now the kids came over, and Elizabeth was all about holding that squirrel. She is our animal lover, and says she wants to be a vet when she grows up.

(She gets this from me, but when she realizes the animals that might come into her office are usually sick, I bet she changes her mind... I did. I am glad that there are really good people out there who can be vets - but I am way to emotional to handle that situation day after day. Who knows though, maybe EJ surprise me...)


So, Geoff is holding the friendly squirrel, and EJ and Cub are petting it as if it were a cat! It wasn't freaking out, and was actually enjoying the attention. I was still a bit unsure if it might be hurt or sick, but it really seemed to be fine. Geoff walked over to the play yard and let the squirrel go, fully expecting it to run for his life.

Nope - it looked around for a minute, looked up at Geoff and came running right back up his leg! They sat down and the squirrel stayed put, right with them... it hopped into EJ's lap and she again petted him.

(For all you Moms out there who are screaming "Rabies!" at the top of your lungs, don't worry... I too thought of that, and more, but he was harmless...)

By this time the squirrel had been named... at first it was Ariel, but then she changed it to Jasmine. You know, like Princess Jasmine from the Disney movie "Aladdin". Everything around here gets a Princess name, or a name from Toy Story.

By this time our cat had sniffed around enough and got curious as to what had our attention. The fun was over as Jasmine was about to be lunch, so we got the cat's carrier and put Jasmine in there. I called the local wildlife preserve and they were more than happy to take him in.



When we got there, and I opened the carrier, Jasmine hopped onto my arm and up to my shoulder. EJ and Cub came over and picked him up to pet, and the naturalists eyes nearly fell out of her head. She said that she'd never seen a squirrel so friendly, even a young one.

Saying goodbye to this little guy was a difficult thing - for all of us. The tears flowed, and the squirrel got many hugs before they took her away for feeding. Jasmine is so sweet, and I am thankful he/she is being well taken care of.