the friendly squirrel

I came home from work and parked my bike in the backyard. That’s when the big grey squirrel caught my eye about 25 feet away. He saw me at exactly the same time. Then he ran. Not away but rather straight for me.

I said out loud, “Are you kidding me?” There were no obvious signs of rabies when he stopped 2 feet in front of me, sitting up and watching. I reached into my lunch bag and took out my apple. I took a bite and tossed it to him. He took it and started eating.

I used to nurse squirrels back to health, so I’ve known many of them up close and personal, but I’ve never known an adult squirrel to be so unafraid of humans.

I was touched. I have a new friend.