Little Squirrel

The little one-eyed squirrel was on my bedroom patio this morning. I have written about him often. He was very tiny when he first appeared on my porch last spring, and there was an over-abundance of males in the territory at the time. The two boys from the year before were still around, and the mother squirrel had a girl and a boy. There was also the two males that live on the front of the property and the older male that hangs out by the garage that is separate from the house. Last spring, it seemed there was constant battles, and suddenly, the tiniest male showed up with a scratch on his eye.

At first, I thought he might have fought with another of the males, but there was something about the wound that made me think it might have come from a larger creature, perhaps even the hawk that makes its appearance in our yard. It was a pretty big wound, and it seemed infected. Still, he continued to come to my porch for sunflower seeds. He generally arrived later in the morning, after the older males had eaten their fill.

I prayed and prayed over him every time I saw him and I pictured him surrounded by healing, loving energy. I felt so helpless. I couldn't think of any other way to help him. I was afraid the infection would travel to other parts of his body. But somehow, the infection stopped. The oozing stopped, and slowly, gradually, his eye began to heal.

When the hawk showed up again this winter, all of the squirrels disappeared. I was particularly concerned about my one-eyed friend, who I sometimes call Uno, but most of the time, I call him Baby. Then he started appearing again a few days ago. It was such a relief, and an interesting moment. He was facing west when I saw him on the table, but I was certain it was him, and when I started to speak to him through the door, he turned his head to show me his eye, as if to let me know that it was him. The eye has healed, but I don't think his vision is completely restored. He still has a scar, and the eye only opens a sliver.

This morning, my husband noticed that some of the older squirrels were chasing each other and knocked the seed dish to the ground. It was broken in pieces, but the other squirrels had also eaten all the seeds. Then Uno arrived, and he sat on the table and looked at us through the door. My husband went outside and filled a bowl full of seeds, then took it to the porch, but when he walked through the doorway and poured the seed onto the table, Uno did not run away. Instead, he climbed onto the trellis, turned around, and watched. Steve said hello, then walked away. I think little Uno likes us. I am grateful that God has watched over him. He is a precious gift.