Hello Everyone!
As I’ve been quite serious on here as of late, it feels like a good day to add some easy joy with this very precious video of my squirrel friend who has been visiting me everyday for months now. My squirrel friend is disabled and likely has a more difficult time collecting her own food than the rest of her companions. She’s fantastic at climbing trees because she can grip the bark with her claws, but has a difficult time walking on the ground. I’ve been in touch with a local wild animal rescue and they believe she has a head injury from a fall. They hadn’t expected her to live this long, but as you’ll see in the video, she’s still thriving. Because she can’t easily stand up, she eats her pecans while laying down. Each time she does this she looks like a baby holding a bottle. It’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I have tons of footage of her being her precious self. I’ve never loved a squirrel before, but I love this squirrel with my whole entire heart. Because of that, I’ve been doing some research to get to know her better, and learned some amazing facts. To begin with, a squirrel’s front teeth never stop growing. They actually have to gnaw and chew at things to keep their teeth from getting too big for their mouths. I’ll be honest, I don’t want a squirrel to suffer from having teeth a foot long, but if I had the chance to see a squirrel with teeth a foot long I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity, (and I’d bring some pretty gigantic snacks to feed the furry angel.) Another fact that was really helpful for me to learn—Squirrels run in a zig zag to escape the chase of predators. This is brilliant and very often keeps them safe. But, the strategy works against them when it comes to cars. I’ve always wondered why, when I see a squirrel on the road, they don’t just run in a straight line to escape the wheels of traffic. Now that I know, I’ll drive more carefully the next time I see one. The final fact I’ll share is one I’ve shared before, but I can’t leave it out of an entire newsletter about squirrels, so here it is —Squirrels plant thousands of trees every year just from forgetting where they left their acorns. When I first heard this years ago I thought, “If we aimed to be half as good as one of the earth’s mistakes we could turn so much around. Our living would be seed. The future would have roots.” Beautifully, my friend Siaara Freeman had learned the same fact around the same time as I did and wrote me to say that learning that fact helped her feel that everything she has ever lost is a garden somewhere. Gorgeous. I love having poets as friends. Siaara has a new book coming out in a few months that I’ve already had the honor of reading. It’s available for pre-order now here. Go get it!
Love, Andrea 🖤
📚 My bestselling book 'You Better Be Lightning' is the winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards and a Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist. Get your own copy (signed copies available too!)
📣 Add to the conversation: Who are your animal friends and how do they help you shift your perspective on life? Share your thoughts in the comments