Take flight, my minions

Ok, so, for some time now, I've liked squirrels.
I've become fascinated by how they act, interact, and react to one another and other creatures.
The sounds they make, the way they claw upside down on a tree trunk and look at you as if they are checking you out. I can't explain it:I just think they are damn cool.

Here in Northern Iowan,we have the reddish-brown variety.
They are a bit bigger than their solid grey cousins.

I've even gotten some shirts depicting squirrels from "Squirrels gone wild" to "Protect your nuts". I'm just odd I guess.

To entertain myself and my kids, whenever we come across one, I'll jokingly say something like "AT EASE JOHNSON", which of course, they usually do reacting to a human speaking to them. They kids love it.

I've even gone so far as to come up with movie titles interjecting the word "squirrel". For example, "Squirrels of the Caribbean:Deadmans' Squirrel", or "Star Wars Episode II:Attack of the Squirrels".

So imagine my surprise when I found the following article, sent to me by my dad, provided by Scripps Howard News Service:



Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed -- the threat
Scripps Howard News Service
An editorial / By Dale McFeatters
Scripps Howard News Service



We know that what with fire ants, killer bees, northern snakeheads, Asian tiger mosquitoes and whatever else is slithering this way, you
probably have your hands full with obnoxious and unwelcome wildlife.
But in our role of spreading groundless panic and needless alarms we feel obligated to alert you to a new menace — crazed and violent squirrels.
Just this Friday came reports out of Mountain View, Calif., of rogue squirrels attacking folks in a local park. It is not an isolated event, people.
Just recently, an aggressive squirrel terrorized Winter Park, Fla., until the authorities captured it.
In Lawrence, Mass., a squirrel attacked an 8-year-old boy in his front yard, and when his mother came out, the rodent clamped onto her leg. ``I have no idea where it came from,'' she told local news, ``but it was on there for a while.''
In Leominster, Mass., a drug suspect's pet squirrel attacked a police officer. A hunter outside Madison, Wis., heard squirrels rustling in the leaves and then suddenly one of them jumped him.
There are documented cases of squirrels attacking deer. And the list of colleges that have warned students against squirrel assaults is endless.
The authorities wring their hands in the face of the menace. For every squirrel removed, two take its place, they insist, and trying to discourage them by removing their sources of food only makes them more aggressive.
In England, there was a proposal to deal with rogue squirrels by eating them. One peer suggested including them in the school-lunch program. It went nowhere.
Your best defense: Be wary, be very wary — especially around acorns."

You can run, but you cannot hide from my furry friends..................