Lessons From a Squirrel - Part 2
I brought the squirrels back to the house and got to work trying to find them a new home. I put the kits in a basement room that the cats couldn't get into. I set up a heat plate with some water and got them comfortable per the suggestions on the internet. (We were oddly prepared for this having raised chickens from chicks in the past.)
Next, also per the internet's guidance, I started contacting local wildlife rescues. And, I must say, these people are super responsive considering it was almost 9 p.m. that evening.
The first person I got in touch with was a bust. "I only take raccoons," she said.
But she gave me the number of another woman in the area that could help. The squirrel lady. I gave her a call and she picked up halfway into me leaving a message on her machine.
"Are their eyes open?"
"Yes."
"What color are they?"
"Squirrel color. Gray. Redish."
We made plans for me to drop them off the next morning. It was actually a pretty easy exchange. She told me they were red squirrels, both males, and thanked me for helping them.
So, I don't know. What does this all mean? What did we learn from the event?
For one, I learned that helping wildlife isn't as crazy as it may seem. There really are people out there that do take in injured and orphaned animals if you find yourself in a similar situation to me—heart strings pulling at you like a runaway wagon.
On a deeper note, I can't avoid the metaphor here.
Asking for help is tough. On the farm, it's especially hard for me. I have a particular way of doing things. If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. It's easier for me to do it myself than teach you how. Blah, blah, blah...
I battle with this a lot. To my own and the farm's own detriment sometimes. I'm a perfectionist. There, I said it.
But, what I have to admit, whenever I do ask for help despite my inner protests, is that things get done. Things move forward. Many hands make light and all that jazz...
The end result might not be perfect. But, overall, it really is better than what I could do on my own. Farming isn't a perfect system. It's a system of constant perfecting. And, when you focus too much on the little details, you miss the big picture of what you're trying to accomplish. It's too much to do on your own. It really is. You've got to ask for help sometimes.
Two newborn squirrels skip up to a skyscraper-sized human mammal and ask for a place to crash for the night. Imagine the apprehension they had to overcome in order to ask for some help that day. But, despite the impeding odds and mental logic, they did it. And they're better off because of it. So, if they can do it, I guess I can, too.
—John
