Squirrelfriend Saga

One day last week, while I was teaching, I received phone calls from two of my children and my husband, along with numerous texts. Generally, they don't interrupt me while I'm teaching, so when I got a break between classes, I called.
Grace was hysterical as she drove to work because as she walked out the back door to the garage,

Squirrelfriend was being attacked by a hawk.
Squirrelfriend is a squirrel that we've been feeding peanuts this winter. He hangs out under the bird feeder or sits on the back porch and makes complaining noises if we need to throw out more peanuts. I named him one morning as we were leaving for work, and I cracked up Earl by calling him squirrelfriend, like  you'd say, "Hey, Girlfriend!"
"I scared the hawk away," Grace exclaimed, "but squirrelfriend just laid there and he was breathing so fast."
The hawk moved to the fence and had a stare down with Grace before he flew up to a tree.
I told Grace I would tell Tucker to guard squirrelfriend from the hawk. He was the only one left at home.
Earl got involved, suggesting that Tucker get a towel and capture squirrelfriend, putting him some place safe. Or, if we was dying, to put him out of his misery.
I don't think any of us could have done that.

This is a hawk, probably, like the one
that attacked Squirrelfriend

Tucker tried to catch squirrelfriend, but he was able to run away and find some place to hide while he recovered.
We weren't sure if his hawk-induced injured would cause his death, but the next day, I saw him. He had some raw patches on his shoulder and his tail was a bit string and unkempt, but he was still alive.
I wondered whether we had increased Squirrelfriend's chance of hawk attack because we fed him peanuts, but Earl said he would have been perching under the bird feeder either way.
I think we would be equally sad if we saw something attacking a hawk. We just have a hard time watching anything die, even though we know that some animals survive by eating other animals.
If Grace had her way, predators would only eat snakes. That might solve two problems in one.

Still Laughing

It's nice to know that, after nearly 25 years of marriage, I can still make my husband laugh.
But the joke began a few days ago. From within the house, I heard a repetitive whining  noise.
"What is that?" I asked Earl.
He walked to the back door and saw a squirrel perched on the edge of the porch calling out.
"Maybe he's mad that there's no bird food on the ground," I suggested.
"Too bad we don't have any thing to feed him," Earl said.
We pondered the squirrel food question for a few minutes before I remembered the peanuts in the cabinet.

Not my picture. But adorable. http://ellecasey.com/squirrel/

Earl opened the door and threw some peanuts underneath the bird feeder. The squirrel, of course, ran away, but eventually made his way back to the grass where he gathered salted peanuts.
After that, the squirrel was a regular feature under the bird feeder. I'd see him every time I went out the back door to the garage or on a walk.
Tuesday morning I was headed toward the garage with Earl on our way to work and the little squirrel looked up expectantly.
"Hey Squirrelfriend," I said, in that voice you would say "Hey, girlfriend!"
And it cracked up Earl. Every time I saw him for the rest of the day, he would shake his head and say, "Squirrelfriend."