Rocky
Paul Jouney
 A little less intense than the winter of northern Michigan and a bit less strenuous than canoeing the border waters of Minnesota is my local wild life.
Squirrels are a fact of life when you live near a heavily wooded area. Most of the time, Squirrels are timid and focused on raiding the nearest bird feeder or raising hell with blue jays. Rocky was a bit more curious and intelligent than the average squirrel.
About a year ago, a baby squirrel found refuge on my back deck. It was not hard to notice a little brown fluff ball slowly moving towards a sliding glass door. It looked hungry so I threw a piece of bread in its direction. Rocky immediately bounced toward the bread, took it, and ran off. The next day, at about the same time, the fluff ball returned and sat in the same place. I asked myself if I was training it or if it was training me? After a few pieces of bread, Rocky was off and I was back to watching TV.
I did not see Rocky again for about a week. During that week, my dad and I got a twenty five pound bag of peanuts for the squirrels. The blue jays were in no sharing mood. When Rocky returned, he brought three friends with him. I was surprised to say the least. Now I had four young overly energetic squirrels on my deck. I threw two hand fulls of peanuts on the deck and went outside to watch. The food, and squirrels, were gone in about two minutes.
I continued to feed Rocky and he continued to entetain me with his acrobatics. As the months passed, he became quite fat. In fact, one day I had to throw the peanuts out on the lawn because he was having difficulty making it up the stairs. That was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
When winter rolled around, Rocky’s visits became less frequent. Wildlife in general thinned out. There was a point when I did not see him or his foot prints for a month. When the snow finally started to melt I saw an old ratty squirrel at the door wall with three babies. I then realized that the old squirrel was Rocky. I was surprised at how bad he looked with his fur all matted and discolored from dirt. He could not have had an easy winter.
 That day I must have put three pounds of peanuts out as well as several Squirrel treats I got from the local hardware store. Once they were done eating, Rocky stayed for a moment, looked inside, and put his paws up on the glass. That was the coolest thank you I have ever got. I learned that day that a little kindness goes a long way.
I haven’t seen Rocky in almost four months. His kids stop by occasionally, but I see them less and less now. There will always be a small bowl of peanuts on the deck in case they, or any other squirrels, stop by.
|
