Hokey Smoke Bullwinkle

Time out from old home week for a report on an unprecedented nocturnal event that happened in our current old home.

Guess who was gliding around the family room in the middle of the night?

If you guessed the ghosts of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers you are wrong.

If you guessed a flying squirrel, you are right.




There was a knock on the bedroom door by the only one in the household still capable of staying up past midnight on a routine basis.

"There's a flying squirrel in the house."

"Are you sure it's not a mouse?"

"It glided down the stairs."

"Are you sure it's not a bat?"

"It glided down the stairs."

"Okay. Sounds like there's a flying squirrel in the house."

A search ensued and the very cute little critter was found perched on the fireplace screen looking a bit stunned in the glare of the living room reading lamp.

A dramatic capture made using only a knit afghan and a brave young man's dexterous bare hands lead to a successful release outdoors. How did it get indoors? We don't really know, but with an old house that's holey as a sieve it's a wonder we haven't seen it or its kin before now.

Here is some fascinating information about flying squirrels. You may be surprised to learn that while they do eat seeds and fungus and are themselves a favorite treat of spotted owls, they don't typically wear little aviator goggles or hang around with moose making corny jokes and trying to outsmart no-goodnick spies.