September 30, 2002 - 3:01 pm
Today I'd like to give a shoutout to UofM's squirrel population. They dig with cute little hands, get hit by cars, and were the only thing to impress my mother on her only trip out to see me back in 2000.
The University of Michigan has an exceptional collection of squirrels. Of course, back in my less populated hometown, these little creatures are pretty skittish around anything human, hence the high school adjective "squirly" which was applied to anyone with a paranoid, anxious demeanor. Anyhow, out here they're not only NOT scared of people, but I've had at least a handful of staring contest with these little buggers that I did not win (even when I cheated by trying to psyche them out). If one were so inclined to feed the things, one could prolly get close enough to grab one by the tail, perhaps with the intention of slamming it into a tree thrice over. But alas, I can't spare the food where wildlife are concerned.
Two stories of note:
My first fall here, I was wondering through the diag near the NS building when I made eye contact with a squirrel who was busy burying an acorn. What amuse me was that, without breaking said contact, he moved 3 inches to his left and started to pat the ground, clearly fooling me that his stash was, in fact, there, and not where he'd been digging before. Clever rogue.
Also, last spring I was late to class one day and it seemed that every sidewalk I ventured down was so cluttered with the little critters that I had to watch my step to avoid tripping on them. I then altered my step to accomodate a kicking motion, and had no troubles for the remainder of my journey.
I wish I had a nice camera so I could just 'whip it out' and capture the creatures on film when it suited my fancy. Perhaps then I could capture their souls, and ultimately, the secret to their acorn supply.
