The Cast of Characters
The Characters (with a capital C) that you might run into in the Forty-One Acres are very real. They come and go throughout the day and with the seasons. AD shares their stories in the Mail Club dispatch and on social media. Here’s who you may hear about:
The Hey Squirrels (The Homestead)
In the spring of 2026, a squirrel kept raiding the bird feeder outside the Homestead office window. AD would open the window and shout, “Hey Squirrel!” to scare it away. Then Hey Squirrel somehow morphed into a term of endearment. Then more than one Hey Squirrel began showing up, and it took on a collective meaning. Then the mommas brought around their babies, the Little Hey Squirrels, who seemed very tame and willing to engage with both AD and the cats. It’s an evolving and curious relationship that AD reports on regularly.
The Crows (The Forty-One Acres)
In the spring of 2026, two crows built a nest in the blue spruce high above the Homestead. AD watched them raise Kazoo, a squeaky, talkative little thing that likes to have long conversations with whomever will answer. Since then, the crows have learned to recognize and answer AD’s particular call and they regularly swing by to say hello and sunbathe on the phone lines above the garden. While Kazoo comes and goes, the original pair stays closer to home, lovingly nuzzling each other in daily tree grooming sessions. One is called the Crackle Crow for its interesting vocalizations, and it’s also been known to imitate an owl and a dove. AD has also witnessed them protecting the Hey Squirrels from cars and neighborhood cats. Down in the Forty Acre Wood, AD has also interacted with crows, who also learned her call within a matter of minutes.
The Cats (The Homestead)
Otherwise known as the Squirrel Ground Defense System, the resident cats Ollie and Rue are deployed outdoors when the Hey Squirrels get a little cocky. The crows warn of them, the Hey Squirrels taunt them, and the cats are just happy to be outside. If they get to observe a garter snake, chase a cabbage moth, or watch the Hey Squirrels from the base of the ash tree, they’re content.
Gary the Garter Snake (The Homestead)
Gary is a little shy and likes to hide amid the deep, dark foliage of the vegetable garden. AD and Gary often startle each other by accident, but they try to share the space respectfully and with appropriate distance. AD suspects that, like the Hey Squirrels, there may be more than one Gary in the garden, and she welcomes their presence since they’re a wonderful bug predator and a sign of a healthy garden ecosystem.
The Osprey (Forty Acre Wood)
The osprey have been nesting high above the Forty Acre Wood for as long as AD has been walking down there. She regularly spies them in their “dinner tree” eating fish or swooping low over the river at dusk. This pair breeds and sits the nest every year, but 2026 was the first year AD paid more attention to the duration of their stay— when they came, when they left, how they raised their young. It was a beautiful and wild experience.
Additional Cast Members
A rotating cast of additional animals includes insects like bees, damselflies, ladybugs, spiders and other insects, migratory butterflies, a vast number of birds ranging from robins, woodpeckers and owls to migratory birds like warblers and hummingbirds, chipmunks, rabbits, cows, bears, raccoons, deer, and elk. In keeping with the Wild side of the Forty-One Acres, they ignore casting calls, defy instructions to just hold still for a minute for a photo opp., and show up whenever they want. AD does her best to report on their appearance.
