boo boo fingers

so today, promptly at 8:30, gail & i arrived at the rehabber's to feed some wildlife...little teeny bunnies and gooselettes and ducklettes and squirrels of every size. 1 day old, on up to a few weeks. and that's where it got interesting. there was a pen of maybe a thousand squirrels..ok maybe 5 ...or 6. hard to say. at the "few weeks" stage they just move around so quickly. so when you take the chicken wire lid off, you have to grab quick and hold on. at this age, their eyes are open, and you do not look like a mama squirrel. so you are The Enemy. gail was opening and grabbing and feeding and on to the next, while i was still trying to wrangle one. i got him (her?) but she was a little feisy. and soon - we had a runner. up my shirt and over the shoulder. my protective glove was way too big, and i had a feeling that i'd squeeze it's little guts out if i grabbed too hard, so he poo-ed on and climbed me till i dropped the glove and grabbed. he (she?) looked me in the eye, recognized me as the wife of the Bad Man that chases their relatives from our bird feeder, and BIT my finger. blood gushed. pain. pain. instinctively i grabbed with the other hand, and - you guessed it...CHOMP. gush. pain. well, gail was doing such a good job, and these squirrels seemed to have taken a Dr Doolittle liking to her, so i just held the chicken wire for that round, and fretted rabies or tetanus or worse. on to the ducklettes....no teeth. we gave them a little spa treatment, scrubbing their little beaks and then a web-icure with tiny soft toothbrushes. can i tell you...duck poo is The Winner in the most-likely-to-make-you choke contest. there were little tiny owls, and an old possum named Sidney. there are some very interesting facts about possums and their procreational plumbing that i won't get into here, because my fingers hurt and typing is not easy. but suffice it to say, thank God human men are not equally equipped. one is enough, thank you. and that's all i have to say. google it. all in all, a tiring but rewarding morning. diva was very interested in my smell when i got home. i will burn those clothes. and do it all over again next week. time to make some dinner. L.