It was time to come back from Mexico. It wasn’t because of the weather. The weather was wonderful. The nights up in the mountains were cool, and the days were warm, and sometimes, in the afternoons, a thunderstorm would roll in, and a refreshing rain would fall, leaving the air clean and sweet. No. It wasn’t the weather. And it wasn’t really my family -- although, I do miss them. My parents have been in the thick of summer activities at their cabin by the lake. They had lots to do and lots of visitors, and I knew they were doing well. No. It wasn’t my family. The truth is, I heard some concerning news about Stubby, my mother’s pet red squirrel, and I thought it was time I went to visit him to make sure everything was OK. My mother reluctantly adopted Stubby after the tragic loss of half his tail last year. He went from her archenemy to her best friend, and now my mother feeds him every day. He spent the winter under their deck, digging tunnels through the snow to get to the treats…