Some years ago my children and I were out in the yard just sitting and talking when one of them spotted something in the sky coming over the house. We watched as it soared over our heads, then over the house into the woods. Almost 300 feet I measured later. This was a little mammal just about the size of a small rat or big mouse that had a lot of extra skin between its front and rear legs.

Yes, you guessed it, a flying squirrel. They really can't fly like bats who flap their wings, but they are expert gliders. Using their tails as rudders they can catch the air under their bodies and stretch out all that extra skin and off they go from tree to tree. In the winter they like to get together in a hole in a tree and keep warm. During the spring they have their babies in abandoned woodpecker holes high up in trees so they can teach their young to glide.

They are real squirrels and are the only ones that come out at dusk and are active all night. They eat bugs, seeds, and some small bird eggs if they can find them. Their big black eyes help to guide them as they glide through tree limbs without mistakes. We can't see where we are going in life either but God will guide us if we trust in Him.

Burney Tompkins

    - Uncle Burney