I had a visitor come down my chimney for an early Christmas. It was not Santa. It was a very scared squirrel.  He remained on top of my damper for two hours (my city’s animal control people were very slow) until he worked it lose enough to spill into my fireplace and start a merry chase through my house. I opened all the doors and grabbed my Casio Exilim for some pictures of the mayhem, because I knew that no one would believe me unless I filmed it.

Below is a short video (about five minutes) that tells the tale of the Squirrel, a frustrated Peter Hodges, and a dog who wasn’t quite sure what to do with his new friend.

[qt:http://www.peter-hodges.com/podcasts/TheSquirrel.mov 320 256]

The video ends just before the toppling of my Christmas tree. I managed to catch the squirrel between the blinds and the window in my formal living room and toss him outside.