The life you save...

How does that Chinese saying go? Something like "if you save someone’s life you have to take care of him forever". Well that seems to be the situation I have gotten myself into. A couple of years ago we put in a swimming pool and one day I got up in the morning to see something swimming around in my pool. I went out to the deck and found a tiny red squirrel swimming around in the water. He was swimming around in a circle, around the edge of the pool trying to find a way out but having little luck at it, as the water was about 6 inches down from the top and then there was the lip of the pool to deal with. He was obviously growing quite exhausted, and I felt sorry for the "little fella", so I got out the leaf scooper on the big 12 foot telescopic pole and flipped his scrawny, little but out of the water. Soaked "but not too worse for wear" he scampered off. As I remember this happened two more times that summer before the little guy figured out that getting a drink of water that way really wasn't a very good idea. Apparently he decided I was the friendly type because I've seen him here every year since, fighting with the big gray squirrels or avoiding the hawks, and he really does seem fond of the big black walnut tree in my backyard and this comes to the crux of the problem. He decided to move into my shed, I really don't mind. I don't even mind that he chewed his own doorway around the backside of the shed up under the eves; it's not a big hole after all since he's not a big squirrel. But does he have to bring every single walnut from that walnut tree inside the shed and leave the empty shells discarded everywhere! There are empty shells on the shelves, there are empty shells all over the floor, and even my lawn mower is covered in them! You would think he would take a little pride in himself and try to clean up his new home, but no, I had to get stuck with "Oscar" the messiest red squirrel on the planet. I swept all these shells out of the shed about two months ago and the place is completely full again, there has to be a thousand empty shells out there (where was he hiding them anyways?). I suppose I have to look on the bright side, He's not too much of a trouble maker (though not very neat), he's quieter than the neighbor's dogs, and I don't run over as many walnuts out in the yard with my lawnmower, nor do I have to rake them up anymore, just sweep out the shed every two months. And all this because I had to play lifeguard…