At great risk of being accused of being a little squirrely, I'd like to share some knowledge gained from a life-time association with squirrels, both of the small mammal variety and of the human deviation.

First, a large number of suicidal squirrels, getting a little too close to the transformer, taught me all I know about living off-the-grid. Frequent electrical outages of this sort, were normal back on our West Virginia farm. Such unexpected events were always cause for much excited talking to myself (the exact @#$% being not repeatable). Horrified conversations among the other non-human witnesses were almost as animated.

If our mountain roads weren't passable, due to snow or ice, my choices were to (1) hike up the mountain behind the house and point my cell phone in the right direction and pray for a signal; (2) risk breaking my other leg, trampling up and down a winding road for over two miles to a land line; or (3) simply wait off-the-grid of electricity until our local friend with the snow plow cleared the road. The last choice was usually the outcome, knowing that he'd be visiting sometime in the next couple of days.

This was good practice, living off-the-grid of electricity for a few days at a time, for little did I know, that the future held living without electricity (and other utilities) for weeks at times, when hurricanes struck. All of these small events in life, weren't the first, nor will they be the last time, that we had to think out-side-the-box of living without modern day conveniences.

So, it boils down to having an alternative plan in place before "emergencies" regardless if they are man made or nature made. If you live where power outages are occasional unwanted guests, you know you'd better own at minimum:

• A grill for cooking,
• A generator for keeping your refrigerator and freezer going, and
• Lanterns, oil lamps, or kerosene lanterns

While the thought of squirrels dying from close association with transformers is a little gruesome, the other lesson my little family and I learned from a squirrel is a tad more macabre, but still relates to having emergency supplies on hand.

Now that the event is long past, certain members (including former members) of our somewhat dysfunctional family, can never look at a squirrel without a sense of ghoulish humor.

It would be fair at this point, to admit that one former member of our household, probably has a completely different perspective on squirrels -- as he since then, has had a daily and permanent reminder of his experience with a little Eastern gray squirrel.

The day began innocent enough. My car wouldn't start and my then husband, decided he would fix it. I should preface this tale of squirrelly woe with a simple statement of fact -- the man was considered a genius in his field of science. It was not unusual for him to shed his white shirt, tie, and suit -- to tackle less intellectual pursuits --- since he was certain if he didn't know it all -- he could learn it all.

He was also certain that my son, the youngest of our five combined children, would benefit from the process of learning to tackle manly projects, even if neither of them knew anything beyond the fact that "the car would not start." This was to be a learning adventure, designed to teach a curious young man, that he didn't need to rely on the talents of others, when he could fix things himself.

For several hours, they studied the idle car, much to the dismay of a squirrel family who had some newborn babies in the big oak tree that the car was parked under. The male squirrel was quite vocal about having them too close throughout the inspection phase of this problem. He was still loudly chattering when they drove away in another car to the local library to see what reference books might be of help.

My husband was not only not Mr. Fix It, but also not a nature boy. He'd had none of the rich experiences communing with nature that I had grown up with. Before leaving for the library, he asked me, "Surely, you know how to do something to shut that squirrel up?" I didn't bother to answer and gave him a wifely all knowing glare.

A few hours later, arriving triumphant, certain a book had told him all he needed to know about the solution to the car problem, they dove into the repair job with both feet and all fingers. With newly purchased tools, my husband removed a few parts, then had my son get behind the wheel with the instruction, "When I say so, I want you to start the car and turn it off when I holler to."

I was in the kitchen, when I heard an unearthly scream and saw my son run in terror through the house to his bedroom and slam the door. The next thing I knew, my ghostly white husband was at the sink beside me, with blood dripping everywhere. His right hand, now bundled in his shirt, distended up as high as he could reach it. He had failed to take his hand off the metal fan, when he hollered to "start the car" and had lost a good portion of his right index finger.

As we were rushing out to the car for me to drive him to the emergency room, my now hysterical son was pleading with his step-father to forgive him. My husband was demanding that all the children come help him find his "finger" before we could leave for the hospital. The squirrel was also having hysterics of it's own sorts at all the commotion and intruders. Our teen-aged daughters were having their own melt downs, frantically trying to find the finger, while at the same time, hoping they wouldn't be "the one" to find dad's finger.

Well, no one could find where the finger went, so it was a bitter defeat upon the part of my husband. Finally, near passing out, he faced the fact that he had to leave for the hospital without part of his body. Imagine my shock when we got to the emergency room, when he ordered me to not only go home, and continue to look for his finger -- but also "Do something about that @#$% squirrel! If I hadn't been distracted by it's noise, I would have remembered to remove my hand from the fan."

At the time, we lived in a cul-de-sac and all the kids were impatiently waiting for me on the corner of the street, each bursting with the news that they had "sort of" found the missing finger. They raced on foot with me following in the car, all pointing excitedly up to the tree -- where the cursed squirrel had the finger -- that it was apparently eating.

Needless to say, it wasn't reattached. I guess it is also suffice to say that the next day, a critter remover was hired to relocate the squirrel family. This wasn't my idea, but evidently the sight of that squirrel in the tree outside our front door, was more than my husband could bear.

What to do if you severe a fingertip or finger

Obviously, if you severely injure or cut off the tip of a finger or thumb, you need to get to a doctor immediately. Your finger digits are a bundle of nerve endings and very sensitive. To say this hurts bad, would be an understatement.

If you don't get the proper care, you risk both infection and could damage your whole hand permanently. The results can also be a permanent deformity or complete disability, when it comes to normal functioning both at work and at home.


Basic First aid if just injured but not completely cut-off:

• Elevate the injured limb
• Apply an ice pack to the remaining portion to slow down bleeding and swelling
• Cover the fingertip wound, using sterile dressing that is dry
• Do not move your hand around, keep it immobile
• Immobilize the affected hand and wrist with a short splint.

Basic First Aid -- If a fingertip is completely cut-off:

• If possible gently cleanse the amputated digit with water (preferably saline)
• Cover with sterile gauze
• Place in a watertight bag
• Keep on ice but do not place the amputated part directly on ice. This could cause it to be further damaged.
• Take the amputated digit with you to the nearest emergency room.
  
  

It will depend upon a number of factors as to whether or not your missing digit can be reattached. It all has to do with how badly it was injured, your health, how the injury occurred, and even your lifestyle. Sometimes chronic unrelated health problems prevent such injuries to be rectified (such as osteoarthritis or diabetes).

Enemy of the Red squirrel, which they will displace if given the opportunity, the American Eastern Gray squirrel can be a number of colors besides gray. They are arboreal (tree living).

Like other squirrels they have a large and varied vocabulary, that includes something that sounds like a mouse squeak, a low pitched almost but not quite growl, a loud chatter, and what some describe as a "mehr mehr" vocalization.

Very often many people don't know the difference between a squirrel and a chipmunk, and in reality they shouldn't -- because a chipmunk is a variety of squirrel.

There are actually two hundred and sixty squirrel species. All of them are either one of two things: (1) They are terrestrial (ground-living); or they are (2) arboreal (tree living). Chipmunks are ground-living and often dig extensive burrow systems. They are also agile and able climbers.

• Chipmunk's habit of burrowing can cause structural damage to your home's foundation, retaining walls and fences, and even to your paved driveway.
• The name chipmunk comes from a native American word "chitmunk" which means head first, which is the way a chipmunk climbs down trees.
• While chipmunks tame easily, you should feed them, because they will become dependant on your handouts.
• Chipmunks fill their cheek pouches with nuts to be eaten later in safety or stored for when food is scarce.

Here in the U.S. a lot of people can't tell the difference between a Fox Squirrel and an Eastern Gray squirrel. They don't look exactly alike, but are very similar in size. They are also known as "Stump Eared" or Raccoon Squirrels, or occasionally called Monkey Faced Squirrels.

They are arboreal(tree living) and non-territorial. Of the many squirrel species, they seem to have the largest vocabulary of clucking, chucking, and even high-pitched whines. You will most often observe them creating a disturbance among themselves, more than some other squirrel species.

Chances are, if you see a squirrel leaping great distances, you are looking at a Fox squirrel.

Red squirrels are common to certain parts of the United States, Canada, and Eurasia. They are arboreal (tree living) and omnivorous.

There was a time in Europe when they were heavily sought after for their pelts. Here in America,. they are sometimes called "pine squirrels" or "chickarees." Only in Arizona, are they listed as an endangered species.