Page 31 - AUG 2018 The Castle Pines Connection proof 1

Neighbors to Know31
Meet Peg, the character behind the character
By Terri Wiebold; photos courtesy of Brenda Young
Last month, The Connection E Guide featured a promotion for Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co. in which we showcased an adorable squirrel asking, “Did someone say nuts?” Little did we know at the time we designed the ad, that the locally-owned franchise actually has an uno cial live squirrel mascot – Peg.
According to Mountain Man franchise owners Brenda and Spencer Young, ever since they moved locations to the little white house on the northeast corner of Perry and Fourth streets in Castle Rock, they have had a daily visitor who comes to the front door of the business to collect her nut.
“I was just hanging out on the front porch one afternoon and I saw a squirrel that caught my eye because it only had three legs,” said Spencer. “We are not sure if it is a male or female squirrel, I just called her ‘Peg’ and it seemed to stick.”
Peg, the uno cial mascot of Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co. visits the Castle Rock business every day.
At least once a day, Peg comes to the door and collects a treat, eating directly from Spencer’s hand. She likes walnuts, pecans, almonds and pistachios, and she recently tried a banana chip, which she seemed to enjoy. “Her favorite appears to be pistachios [although not mine],” said Spencer. “She cracks open the shell and eats the nut, usually making quite a little mess,” he quipped.
Spencer Young, one of the franchise owners, feeds Peg a nut straight from his hand.
On a recent visit, I experienced feeding Peg rst-hand, as she timidly took a pistachio from my hand and then scurried o to enjoy it.
According to Spencer, Peg has become
a bit of a regular. He he enjoys her company, and customers seem to as well.
Did You Know?
Castle Pines is home to several species of birds, many of which do not y south for the winter. Among them is the Red- Tailed Hawk, which can be seen not only in the skies above Castle Pines, but nearly anywhere in the country. These hawks survive in the winter by waiting for thermal updrafts to carry them high into the sky where they hunt from above.