My friends and I are ever so grateful for the nice accommodations you’ve provided for us.  I think the shed is for your husband to do his art work.  Occasionally I peek in there when he’s not looking and watch him make his paintbrush fly with the music he has playing.  It’s almost like he’s conducting the orchestra.  It was nice of him to make that extra building for us. 

There’s space underneath for all of us critters to share.  In fact we divided it up evenly. There’s one section for the cats, one for the rabbits, one for us squirrels and one for a chipmunk that rarely shows his face.  We’re thinking about getting some outdoor furniture next summer.  Love what you’ve done with the yard.  We’ve already furnished the inside with a nice area rug and a few chairs.  We want to get a flat screen TV, but that might be a bit much.  When it gets very cold, we retreat to our dray. Most of the time we hide under the shed – so far no complaints from the neighbors.

Well I know you’re wondering about my tail. It used to be full and fluffy like all the other squirrels.  One day, while I was minding my own business and finding spots to hide the precious walnuts, there came a giant.  It might have been a dinosaur with his large teeth chomping on the grass.  I happened to be in the way.  Before I knew it, that extension of my backside was gone.

Let me tell you, I really miss it.  I’ve grown pretty fond of my tail, especially now that I no longer have it.  I guess the dinosaur must’ve been hungry, but I’m sure he was disappointed.  A squirrel tail has no real meat on it.  He just got a mouth full of fluff – my fluff. 

Once the initial shock of losing it wore off, I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would.  You see our tails provide balance when we’re climbing trees and bounding from branch to branch.  If we start to fall they can be like a parachute and help us float to the ground rather than crashing into it.  We also use our tails to talk to other squirrels?  When you don’t have one it can prove to be a great loss.  There have been times when I used my tail as an umbrella, as a shield against other animals, and an oar in the river which helps me swim.  Even so, animals were created to adapt to their surroundings, so when we lose something like a tail, we change the way we do things.  I guess we’re not much different than humans that way.

We certainly don’t need to lose our courage or our smartness, just because we’ve lost one piece of us.  In fact, I think not having a tail can be very advantageous.  It doesn’t get in the way.  It doesn’t have to be preened all the time or searched for nasty little fleas and gnats. A tail is just an appendage.  I’m used to it now, so it doesn’t bother me . . .  much.

Some of the other squirrels decided to name me Stubby from that day on. I certainly wouldn’t name them after any one of their faults or disabilities, but squirrels can be squirrels you know.