The Postscript: Not stubby

My mother has a pet squirrel named Stubby.

He is not, technically, her pet, as he lives outdoors as a wild squirrel. But he spends much of his time sitting on the railing, watching my mother, and my mother spends much of her time sprinkling seeds outside for Stubby, so you cannot deny they have a relationship.

While my husband, Peter, and I were up north visiting, however, Stubby had a visitor.

“That’s not Stubby!” my mother said, looking out the window at the red squirrel who appeared remarkably at home.

It’s easy to identify Stubby since he lost half his tail in some unknown but unquestionab...