More from Susan Thogerson Maas

After our adventure with the wayward squirrel, my husband repaired the chimney cover, and no other critters have fallen in. We much prefer wild animals to be outside our house—and I expect they do, as well. I love watching the birds and animals that come to our bird feeders and wander into our yard. Usually it’s just birds, rabbits, and squirrels, but we’ve also seen raccoons, deer, and coyotes a time or two.

The squirrels who hang out around our home can be annoying at times, but they are also cute and extremely gymnastic. I could certainly never manage to eat while hanging upside down from a branch. Or leap from our roof to the dogwood tree that holds the bird feeder and still look graceful (and not break a leg, or worse).

Some lessons I’ve learned from squirrels:

• Sometimes a leap of faith can get you from the rooftop to the tree with a bird feeder in it. If you don’t succeed and fall to the ground, shake yourself off and climb the tree.
• There is nothing that can’t be climbed, given enough effort.
• Flexibility is a key virtue when trying to access new food sources. Creativity can be helpful, too.
• The difficult we do now; the impossible takes a little longer. . . . Even squirrel-proof bird feeders can be conquered.

Persistence and creativity are the “squirrel virtues” I most want to imitate. Chewing through bird feeders and jumping from roofs . . . not so much.