« so sleeeeeeepy | Main | a three page essay titled "what i did this summer" »
July 03, 2006
all up in my grill
moses, who is usually a fairly reticent cat (except when food is on the line), had a lot to say about this one.
i woke up quite late, rather groggy, and settled into some pre-breakfast surfing on the sofa with the back door open. mo' assumed position to my right, on the ottoman.
it is not uncommon for there to be a pair of squirrels in the walnut tree out back. we are used to their sounds.
today there was a lot of sound. moses abandoned his post to check it out, ears forward, scooting along as quick as his stiff little legs would take him.
he returned a few moments later, tail bristling. the din reached new, larger proportions. i decided to see for myself.
this was no pair of squirrels. the walnut was overrun with them-- i counted six, but perhaps there were more. this didn't seem like squirrel play, but more like squirrel wars. there was biting, definitely biting. agression. it moved from the tree to the roof of the house, down the gutter, into the basement stairwell, and back up on to the patio.
and then the really big one was chased under my grill, which is very, very close to where moses and i were standing on the screen porch. and it started to make very strange noises. it occured to me that, if i was seeing agression and strange behavior, it could be a result of more than a territorial conflict. the word "rabies" floated through my head, and i hustled moses off into the living room and shut the door. i remained on the porch, but barricaded the gap at the bottom of the screen door with furniture.
and then, abruptly, they were gone, chasing each other off down the yard, across the tops of the hollies, and toward the woods.
Mo', having given me his perspective on the activities, is now back in position on the ottoman, and I think perhaps I should have breakfast.
Posted by lisa at July 03, 2006 11:37 AM
Comments
Were the "strange noises" somewhat like a chicken clucking? I've heard squirrels make that kind of moise when they were very frightened (I held a very scared, slightly injured, wild squirrel once, and that was the noise it made).
Did any of the squirrels appear to be staggering in any way? That's a rabies sign.
Posted by: Joseph H. Vilas on July 3, 2006 01:41 PM
no, they make those clucking noises all the time. this was different.
they were all running at top speed and seemed generally healthy so i'm actually not too worried about the rabies thing. no noticeable staggering.
Posted by: lisa on July 3, 2006 02:42 PM
I'm glad no rabies. That was what I was thinking, too.
Hey, when you were a kid did people tell you that if you got rabies you'd have to get fifty shots in your stomach? That's what they told me when I was in kindergarten. Freaky.
Posted by: Phil on July 5, 2006 11:52 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.