...About the Baby Squirrels

 

When we took down the tree, we destroyed the home of a number of animals and insects. I was already feeling very guilty, like Urban-Fern Gully guilty when....

On the first day of work, we saw one of the tree trimmers hanging out by the fence. With some squirrels. Some baby squirrels.

Dude found them in one of the limbs he was dragging to the front yard. Knowing the abandoned squirrels were outside, I couldn't do nothing. So I sought the powers of Google: "What to do with abandoned baby squirrels?"

I found a place for the squirrels, Mid-South Orphaned Wildlife. I called the rescuer who told me I could bring the squirrels out. But I had to wait. Six hours.

For six hours, the squirrels hung out in our dining room. On a cloth diaper. In a shoebox. On a towel. On a heating pad. On the ironing board. I didn't know I cared so much.

When I took the squirrels to Mid-South Orphaned Wildlife,  I was introduced to a new world. A world where people are burdened to help orphaned wildlife. Where raccoons, opossums, and squirrels are rehabilitated for release into the wild. The baby squirrels, which turned out to be a pair of girls and a boy, were weighed and fed. Then placed into an incubator with other abandoned or orphaned baby squirrels.

The next day, we had the other tree in our yard pruned. With a different work crew. At one point, I looked out the back window and saw one of the tree guys with some baby squirrels. Dangling by their tails. Over the fence.

Like a maniac, I ran outside and told him not to drop them. I got a box. Called the rescuer. And started the whole thing over again.

Changes in the Skyline

We had some slight tree damaged in a recent storm.  One limb was left hanging ominously over the house.  Threatening to put a hole in the roof. We called a few tree services and got some estimates for the limb removal.

Bad news. When the tree guys arrived we learned the limb was the least of our problems. One of the tree guys started pulling at the base of the tree with his bare hands. And the wood started  falling away. The base of the tree and root system was rotted out and infested by termites. The whole tree needed to come down.

The professionals came in and took down the limb. And the rest of the tree.  I'm glad we called in real professionals rather than bank on our neighborhood handyman. In this scenario, dealing with licensed professionals was the way to go. 

When the first day of work was complete, the large oak was merely a stump. And that stump was ground into mulch two days later.

Gunther, our emo dog, mourned the loss of the tree.  And contemplated the open space. 

Our yard was basically destroyed in the process of having the tree removed.  We're calling it the drawing board. I doubt we'll do anything too exciting.  Maybe a simple patio and a new tree. Definitely some grass.  

Stay tuned. 

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