"Nice to meet you," said the frog.

We have so many tree frogs here.

They're always in the same places too. Like, these guys each have their own turfs. This one is always on my office window. There are three others who hang out on and around the porch light. And there was one who lingered in the downstairs shower for a good three weeks or more.

I don't know if they inhabit other houses in McIntosh like they do the Hotel. I'm hoping so as that would make me feel less odd. I have to imagine they're so prolific around here because of our proximity to water. These aren't water frogs, but they do thrive on the mosquitoes and whatnot that are abundant around here because of Orange Lake.

We enjoy spotting them when to pop up in new locations. It's become a game over the last year or so.

Do you like frogs?

Found: Baby Squirrel.

So ... JM rescued a baby squirrel yesterday. She'd fallen from a majestic oak in our yard during a storm, narrowly missing the hood of JM's car. She was soaked. He scooped her up, wrapped her in Dominic's scarf, and tried to clean her up. Meanwhile, I searched for the name and number of the squirrel guy from last September. JM put her on a heating pad in a basket, wrapped in the scarf and then I took her to work with me for the afternoon. When I did reach the squirrel guy (David), he was thankful we found her and happy to take over her care.

Susan, Dominic, and I took her to him last night after work. She's doing really well, is big for her age and seems quite healthy. He estimates she's about six weeks old - eyes are still closed, but he thinks they'll be open by the beginning of next week.


David has a really fantastic set-up for squirrel rehab in Ocala. He has a system for monitoring the babies' growth and progress and even a substantial network of people whom he works with and who refer to him. This man, in my humble opinion, is a tremendous resource in this niche of animal rescue and rehab. I have entrusted him with three baby squirrels at this point and I will continue to do this so long as he is accepting of them.

When we dropped this little one off, David let me know he typically names the squirrels when they come in as a means of tracking their data and progress. He asked if it was alright that he named her Alison. And of course I said yes. So somewhere out there, eventually in the wild, there will be a squirrel who responds to the name Alison.