Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Scrawny Tail Squirrel

With all the possible critters that come with living by some woods, there is the reality of death also. Each one of the critters that lives on our one acre we call "Bluebird Cove" is special to us.

Recently one little squirrel was especially noticed because its tail dragged on the ground and had absolutely no fluff to it. We named her Scrawny Tail. Then days later I noticed that there was a wound on the tail. When I took photos I could see that it was really bad and several inches long, so we borrowed a humane trap and took her to the nearest wildlife rehab place, The Wildlife Center, in Lyndhurst, Virginia.

There are directories online for wildlife rehabilitators, so if you find a little critter that needs help, search to find one and you can make a difference in the animal's life. We've taken several animals for rehab, but only one has made it, which we picked up to release where we had found it. It was a turtle that had been hit in the road. What a joy to be able to be part of returning it to it's wild life.

Scrawny Tail didn't get to be released. She was sent on to Heaven because the tail had three broken bones that protruded in several places and the wounds were so bad that amputation would've been necessary.

She couldn't survive in the wild without a tail. It's used for balance and in winter they wrap it around themselves to stay warm enough so as not to freeze.

It was hard to let go. I wanted so badly to bring her back to release her here and continue to feed her the little treats she enjoyed. Dried apricots seemed to be her favorite within the handful of nut and dried fruit mix I was throwing out at the time.

I would not have chosen for her to suffer just so I could enjoy her being here. Sometimes love means letting go. Often, we don't get our own way or what we want, since our way isn't always the best way. The hard part about that is recognizing that our way isn't the best way ... it all seems to logical and right in our own minds.

There's so much about life that we don't understand. We need to have Faith to know that Somebody knows more than we do and can see the whole picture that we cannot see. The picture, given me by a dear friend, is my Mom, who is also in Heaven, feeding Scrawny Tail till I arrive.

Our place is full of critters, so I've been well entertained. Flowers are blooming too, and those blooms always make me sniff and smile. Life goes on and being able to adapt and be flexible is a life-long classroom for me.

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