Meet Nutkin.  He's the newest member of our famliy.

We have had Nutkin for about a year now; he's brought us endless moments of joy and fun.  

Yes, he may be a squirrel, but to us, he's our pet, a member of our family.  We all love him to pieces.

We found him in our yard about a year ago about this time.  He was lying in the grass, tiny, pink, and abandoned.  We don't know why his mother abandoned him, but she did; we didn't want him to die, so we took the task of caring for him: providing a place to sleep, feeding him at all hours, day and night, and making sure he was warm and comfortable, away from the elements or any potential preditors.  It has been a lot of work, but it's been worth it, especially when the danger passed and he began to eat .... and grow.

Nutkin is now about a year old, and he's grown up considerably.  He is a grey squirrel with a long, bushy tail, bright, sparkling beady eyes that miss nothing, pointed, erect ears that stick up like a pair of flags, and an ever wiggling, inquisitive bewhiskered nose that never stops moving, even when asleep.  He is absolutely adorable!

We may eventually let him out into the wild, but for now, he's a part of us.  We feed him nuts (his favorite, naturally; acorns, walnuts, peanuts, and hickory nuts are his loves), berries, and pieces of fruit (apples, pears, etc.).  He also loves lettuce and hamburger meat, not to mention, bananas and carrot sticks.  We have him in a huge cage in our livingroom, so he can see what is going on around him and he can get plenty of exercise.  When he is out, he loves leaping from shoulder to shoulder and nuzzling in people's hair or pockets, where he then starts purring like a little cat.  It is so cute to watch him in action; Nutkin never ceases to put a smile (or a look of astonishment) on people's faces!

Well, it's about time to give Nutkin his afternoon snack, so I will go.  I will write more about Nutkin in future stories; until then, take care!

~To be continued!~