Katra,

Sometimes I wish so many cherished experiences in life had
not come my way, because I live in dread that somebody is
not going to believe me, after they've heard several.

In my neighborhood, we have the best neighbors in the world.
(Prior to moving here over thirty-five years ago, we had some
of the worst.) But I know them all. And NONE of them feeds
squirrels by hand. To feed them by hand is to invite them to
eat through the fascia boards of your house and take up residence
in your attic, and the damage they do there is DISASTROUS !

My backyard getaway (computerized private music studio for
composing, arranging, recording, enjoying email, etc.) is also
a hideaway among green, growing things.

One day, then the coffee mug bottomed out, I opened the door
to go up to the house for a refill and spotted a young squirrel
on a pine tree across the yard. We made eye contact. Seriously,
eye contact. I froze, just to enjoy the moment, hoping he/she
would go to the birdbath nearby, but he (let that gender suffice)
just kept looking me right in the eyes, as he came down the pine
and hopped toward me. (Most take off like a scalded dog.) He
came right up to me -- much to my astonishment -- and I knelt
down. He was within two feet and just stood there with his
head cocked to one side, as if to say, "What's your name?"

I held my right hand out, palm-up, closed all but the index finger
and reached forward. He put out his left front foot and put his
paw on top of the end of my finger. It felt cool.

I have seen squirrels beg for food, and have fed them, in parks
and such, where they have been fed enough to do that and NEVER
have I had one extend only one foot... and only then just to take
a nut, or whatever between both paws.

My impulse was to pet the squirrel -- even to pick it up as one
would a puppy or a kitten -- but I didn't want to frighten him.
After maybe half a minute, face-to-face, I decided to go on to
the house. As I stood and walked away, that little guy just stood
there as if to say, "Are you just going to leave me here?"

There is nothing bizarre about this story other than the fact it
was just so unlike a squirrel to behave this way.

Being unable to discern one squirrel from another, I don't know
if I've seen this particular one again, or not. But no further
incident of this kind has occurred. Normally when I go into
the yard, any squirrels there will scamper up a tree, or even run
from tree to tree, to put distance between us.

That one time -- whatever brought it about, or whatever it meant
to the squirrel -- is one of the cherished little moments of my life.
You and your mocking bird seem to have a more long-term
relationship. Good for you...

g