When I lost Bucky back on Christmas Eve, I didn't think I would be graced with the presence of another squirrel teacher so soon! But as destiny would have it, I received three baby squirrel brothers in mid-February. A woman in north Austin found their nest on the ground with the orphans nearby.
WOW! All I could say was WOW! I had the thought that maybe my true love Bucky returned in another squirrel body, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I just took care of them and loved on them as any mama squirrel would and waited and watched...
I named them Bucky, Sweet Pea and Nutjoy (whose name evolved into Mr.Nut). Bucky was the runt and Mr.Nut seemed to be the all-wise sage (probably a reincarnation of Chuang-Tzu, the Taoist mystic). Squirrel personalities develop in their own time so I am enjoying mothering these little beings anxiously waiting to see who they will become!
Bucky and Sweet Pea seem to be high energy beings, whereas Mr.Nut is very laid back and likes to just hang out. He seems to prefer being in his own space rather than playing with his brothers. And for this reason, I eventually gave Mr.Nut a cage of his own and let Bucky and Sweet Pea share a different cage. The other difference was that Mr.Nut often has a faraway look in his eyes, whereas his brothers are more grounded in real time.
One day, after feeding the buddies, they started sharing their squirrel wisdom and when Mr.Nut spoke about love, I realized that he was in fact my new teacher, and very obviously the ancient Taoist sage.
Stay tuned for more updates on these amazing little buddies! And when you are out and about living your life, take note of the little squirrels in your life and whisper a silent thanks for squirrelgrace!
