Squirrely Behavior

Everyday, the sight outside my third floor dorm room window is looking more and more autumnal. Leaves slowly making the transition from vivid greens to more the subdued, modest hues of fall, acorns swelling and growing to the size of luscious cherries, hidden just behind those colorful drapes- How this season is commonly thought of as a time of decay completely escapes me, considering the continued progression of renewed life, albeit in more subtle visions than the flashy explosions of blooms so synonymous with spring. Before long, I began to hear a curious new beat to accompany the standard symphony of daily dorm life, a sharp tap… tap, tap! as inconsistent as it was jarring. At first I was convinced that hailstones had begun to fall in a freak twist of weather patterns, but all one had to do was step outside and see the ground littered with spent acorns to know the source.

And there they all lay, strewn like spent confetti, covering the sidewalks and streets, just waiting to be whisked away by hungry critters preparing for the first frost. Enter, the squirrel- Or should I say, squirrels, as there seem to be almost as many of those bushy-tailed rodents are there are acorns, and believe me, that’s a hell of a lot of squirrels.

A breed apart from the squirrels I used to share my lawn with at home, these large rats are surprisingly aggressive, exactly the opposite that the plentiful bounty of acorns might suggest. Don’t let those cute pointed ears and gentle, rounded eyes fool you- These guys? They wouldn’t flinch in the face of an on-coming tank if it meant they could gather more nuts. Chased up a tree, they’ve been known to throw twigs and leaves at their perceived attackers, refusing to budge until their opponents have given up first.

Honestly, with the numbers and strength of that growing squirrel army… I think that instead of worrying about capturing the last small bites of summer and preparing for the cold that is sure to come, perhaps they should be a cause of concern!