Based on true events

Whiskers, yes, Whiskers. That was his name, though he bore no “ whiskers.” Indeed, it would have far rather suited a cat than a strict, yet kind father, but that was his name: Elijah Whiskers. He may as well have been a cat, for all the outdoor creatures minded not if they beheld him behind a pane of glass. They would hardly take note of a cat in those barring circumstances, and therefore, though he was not a cat, they barely took note of him. That was, until Samuel came. Now, Samuel, despite his human-sounding name, was not a man, no more than Whiskers was a cat. No, Samuel was a squirrel, an American Red Squirrel, and he had just made the bright, sunny discovery of the plate filled with bird  seed in Whiskers’s  back yard. First, he cautiously sniffed at the ground around it to make sure that no illness-inducing chemicals were present on the grass. Then he slowly crawled claw by claw to the seed, restraining his eagerness to partake of the feast, and proceeded at a snail’s good pace, just as wise squirrel should do in such circumstances. Apprehensively, he poked his twitchy nose over the plate rim, and into its tempting contents. He took one nibble, and waited for any adverse effects. None, of course, presented themselves to Samuel’s fiery and furry body, and so he took another bite and another until he was devouring the seed as boldly as any bird. He was in the midst of feasting upon a heavenly sweet sunflower seed which he held in his little paws when he happened to glance up at the monstrously large house before him. The paws immediately grew senseless, and the seed dropped partially eaten upon the ground. There, in the glazed window, watching the squirrel with laughing eyes, was Whiskers. Samuel needed only a moment to behold the peril before he dashed in a red line to the nearest spruce tree and there, safe at the tip of one of its boughs, and gazing at equal height as Whiskers, Samuel took refuge. Now that he knew he was safe quite another emotion suddenly welled up within his heaving breast other than the timid terror of before. His red fur said it all. He was furious at the disruption of his meal, and without further ado, he confronted his foe savagely, stamping his feet, and squeaking and chattering in a squirrel temper tantrum. This only succeeded to amuse Whiskers further, though Samuel was quite unaware of the fact, and the man decided to humour his feisty little critter. So, he began to stamp. Samuel immediately froze in astonishment. Those stamps  were much bigger than his own. But what mattered it? The man had dared to spy upon him, and he would have to pay. In the reawakened flames of ire, the squirrel renewed his frenzied dance, and so did Whiskers, and there they stood facing each other, one behind the window, the other before, both jigging as if the earth was a smouldering furnace beneath their feet. Never before had Whiskers been so amused as when he stamped with the squirrel; never before had Samuel been so irate as when he had this epic contention with this human. But then Whiskers  did a thing most unwise: he grinned. And you know what the showing of teeth means to the animal world, though it differs greatly in our own. Samuel was  transformed in to stone on the spot, literally petrified by this new and unexpected turn of events. All his courage and pomposity fell from him like his fur in the spring molt, and he stood paralyzed for a mere second. Then, like before, he dashed up the tree like a ruddy lightning bolt, and was not seen again for a long, long time. Whiskers chuckled to himself when the squirrel’s fiery tail and temper vanished from view and thought : “Well! What I tale I have for the family!” And indeed he did. 

American Red Squirrel
Tamiascuirus hudsonicus

I have told much about our American Red Squirrel in past articles, so I will see if I can find anything slightly different written of this denizen of the trees. It bears the interesting alternate name of “Chickaree”, so I surmise that when the American Goldfinch calls “ per-chick-a-ree” in flight, it is saying “per-squirrel.” The American Red Squirrel pairs up during the winter months of February to March, and at times in the fall. The eyes of the young open at 27 days old, and the family remains together for the rest summer. There is evidence of educating occurring between the mother and her children during this period. This squirrel indeed, is a long-lived rodent, if it is lucky, stretching to a life-span of 12 years. Finally, it is a speedy creature, capable of crossing 75 feet in 8 seconds upon flat ground.