Thats nature for ya

[quakerboy]

So I live in a pretty urban area. There's my building, there's about 6 foot of bark with a few (in someones opinion, I am guessing) tastefully positioned shrubs, a fence, a sidewalk, a moderately trafficked street, and the back side of a strip mall viewable from my front window. Off to the side, just visible from the toilet if you leave the bathroom door open is the front window of a drugstore (I believe I have posted regarding my ability to micturate while watching people shop previously). The back window stares a few foot across at the corresponding window of another apartment, just so no one assumes there is nature on one of the non-front sides of the building. This is possibly the most Non nature oriented place I have ever stayed for more than 3 days.

So, this morning, I happen to look out the window. And I notice a squirrel staring back at me, from the top of a fence post. This is an instant double win. I love nature, particularly as embodied by its living animal critters. Plus I extra love squirrels. I was so excited I called my SO over, and pointed out the window at it, quiet like so as not to scare him off. He was only a few feet from the window. She looked and looked, and then when she realized I was pointing at the squirrel, gave me the "your kinda special, aincha" look and said "that's neat".

He stayed for a few moments more, before leaping across to a different fence, which in human terms would be like me jumping across a 2 lane street in one leap, then running away and disappearing. I mused about how cool it was, and stated my need to buy peanuts so as to lure him back more often. I had established a grand plan in my mind, involving setting food on fence posts ever closer to my door, until I eventually befriended him and he gave me one of his infant squirrel babies to raise as my own.

Then I step outside to survey the situation, and I realise that about 5 minutes before he showed up, I had set my kitchen trash outside. We only make enough to take out trash maybe once a week, and then mainly only because it gets to smelling pretty foul. Which it had, so I tied it off and set it outside while I went to get pants. Mr Squirrel had ripped open the bottom of the bag, and what had brought him to us was the pit of an Avocado.

I am rethinking my plan. I still want his little squirrel baby to raise, but I do not want trash strewn about my 6x6 "yard".

[VioletLake]

1. I ran over a squirrel once with my car.

It darted into the street from between parked cars where it was invisible to me until it was too late. I felt the thump and the crunch, and as I drove away I looked in the rear view mirror and saw its crushed little body with its tail erect and twitching madly.

I cried. But squirrels are unusually stupid. They must each have a get out of death free card. I see squirrel pancakes all the time, and now that I make it a point to drive carefully where I expect them to be, I slow down and give them time to work out their indecision.

Squirrels are also destructive. They can break into your house and do everything there that you do, plus dying and rotting.

They are cute though, and I do like feeding the critters in my back yard.

[quakerboy]

3. I've never met a squirrel in this context before.

Had a neighbor dog that liked trash once. Lived in the woods, with a racoon family under the cabin for 6 months. But never had an issue with squirrels.

I dont know if they are stupid, so much as they have such killer reflexes that nature has not given them any natural fear of something as large and presumably lumbering as a car. Ive seen a few pancakes, but no more than cats or other critters. Ive been lucky to have never hit any living critter with my car(maybe some bugs, but how would I know). I am always amazed there are not more, with the way they run across roads with almost no care as to whether there are cars or not. I have watched them turn somersaults to get out of the way just in the nick of time so many times.

[VioletLake]

4. Around here, it's almost always a squirrel pancake.

And we have bunnies, chipmunks, groundhogs, raccoons, deer, and wild turkeys, in addition to pets, roaming around.

My parents had squirrels break into their house through the attic, and they lived and died there until they were discovered and removed. Same thing happened to my sister, except in her case, they found their way into the other floors. They were eating the cat's food!

[gmoney]

2. ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfSAcVq6s9c