Saturday, May 07, 2005

Empty nest syndrome

I saw something new today. A young squirrel had fallen out of a tree and was dazed on a stairway where I am working. His mother or father was nearby and yelling at me to stay away. I backed off since you never know what a maternal squirrel will do. This youngster was really barely moving when I first came upon him. The nest is sixty or seventy feet up, so he may have fallen that far, its hard to say. Well, momma/ daddy ran around for a while as "junior" got his head back together, and he slowly reached off the stair toward the tree trunk. He got a grip, literaly, and headed up a few feet at a time with his parental unit ten feet or so above him. This was " get back on the horse after the fall" time. I am sure he will not need a long lecture on looking where you are going.
Unless it was not an accident.
What if he did not FALL?
Maybe his sibling pushed him out in a dispute over quality (nursing) time with mom?
No better way to increase your chances of survival than to see that a competitor has an early exit from the nest. How would the brother/sister react as the groggy, 'bump on head', junior returns?
More on this developing story later, as I seek to interview the neighbors, and see if there have been any domestic squabbling lately.
Nutty story, yes?

1 comment:

David Edward said...

Burial services were held today for the deceased "Junior" survived by his mother and a murderous sibling to be named later. Suggestions for names for the villian are welcome. It was a quiet ceremony, attended by the aouthor and a crow who was disappointe dthat his dinner was interupted.