Angela White: Natural Setting 2: Squirrels

I have been noticing the squirrels lately a lot more than I used to. It all started when we had class on the Nolan Trail a while ago. On my walk to the location where class was being held, I had nothing to do so I took to watching the squirrels interact with their surroundings and each other. I have realized that these little guys are vicious. As I was walking down the path I noticed a squirrel picking at something in the dirt. I stopped and watched it, because it did not seem to notice me, as they normally do. I watched it for about a minute, when out of nowhere another squirrel jumped out of a tree across the path. This second squirrel literally charger across the path at the other squirrel and tackled it. This scared me, quite a bit. After watching the squirrels have what looked like a battle royale, I moved on as I did not want to be too late to class. Since then I have been observing the squirrels a little more closely. When the n'oreaster hit, I wondered, "where do the squirrels go in such a terrible storm?". A couple of days after classes were back in session, I opened the back door of Gosnold to see a squirrel casually walking out of the building. In preparation for this blog, I sat outside of James River Hall for a while to watch the squirrels play. I watched as a squirrel jumping in and out of, and buried within a small pile of leaves. These little creations of nature are so precious, yet so violent. I am glad that they are not domesticated. They seem happy free. Even during their battle royale, they looked like they were having the time of their lives.