12-03-02 @ 8:01 pm EST

Sitting at the computer updating my journals, I suddenly heard a horrendous squeaking coming from near the stairwell, and flung my hands up to my face. "Oh, oh, OH!!" I cried. Ma's reply was considerably more deadpan.

"Oh my God. It's a squirrel."

Cosmas had caught a FLYING SQUIRREL!

We ran to the stairwell and looked down. The squirrel was lying on its back, not moving, but every so often it'd let out a series of squeaks. Coz was looking at it, but he'd keep going after it. Ma and I freaked out now. Ma told me to get the broom and she'd kill it. I told her to get the cat away from it or it might bite him. I got her the broom. Coz was still going after it and Ma raised the broom as if to squash it! Meanwhile Dad was yelling from the utility room for us to wait. "WAIT!" I yelled at Ma. "You're not going to kill it with THAT!" Dad came in with a pair of gloves and went after the squirrel; Coz kept going after it too. It jumped up into the window--so it was still alive. Yep, that baby was a flying squirrel. I grabbed Coz out of the way and Dad got the squirrel in his hands; it kept squeaking like mad. While I held the struggling cat, he opened the door and tried to toss the rodent outside, but it flew back into the wall, making us all shriek; then it went out on its own. Last he knew, it was perched in the bamboo outside my window.

GAHH!!

I KNEW there was a weird critter in the house...I had heard a scrabbling in the stairwell the other day, and when I peered behind the door, I saw something FLY up there. But I had no idea what it might be. Meanwhile Dad and I have heard a loud gnawing upstairs. We had no idea there was a flying squirrel up there! o_O

Anyway, Coz got a lot of congratulating...he caught himself not only a rodent, but a FLYING rodent!...and I hope that little booger is doing okay out there. This is only the second time in my life that I've ever seen a flying squirrel. Huh.