It gets lonesome out here in the wilderness of Alaska. I haven’t seen another soul except for my husband, Shon, in over a month. I do my best to make friends with the wildlife. I fed the chickadees all winter and were excited when the pine grosbeaks showed up! We have that one bird, Fred, who flies into our window each morning to say, “Hello!” I talk to the trumpeter swans, Amelia and Orville when I see them. I even got as close as I could to Melissa the Moose. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw a cute little bushy-tailed squirrel on our front porch!

The squirrel found the little pieces of bread that I had laid out for my birds. She grabbed a bit, took a few nibbles, and scurried away. In a few minutes, she was back! This time she was taking her time, so I grabbed my camera. I was snapping a few pictures when Shon walked into the room. “I have a new friend!” I exclaimed. Shon took one look at the squirrel and said, “That squirrel must die! Can you imagine the damage that thing could do if it got up into our attic?” My heart sank.

I was in our room a little while later making up the bed when I saw the squirrel scurry by the window, headed for another snack. I heard Shon in the living room, getting his gun. “RUN, Little Squirrel! Run for your LIFE!” I shouted in my head. Several shots rang out. I knew that squirrel must be zig-zagging, taking cover when possible, avoiding every bullet. Shon is an excellent shot, so I knew that my new friend must have some serious skills.

After the shooting stopped, I removed the bread from the front porch, hoping to avoid another confrontation. I’m afraid Suzie the Squirrel might not be as lucky next time. As of today, my new little friend still lives, but Shon’s rifle is reloaded and ready to go. And Shon keeps looking out of the window with a murderous gleam in his eye.