Home

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 27 September, 2008
Time: 1700-1719
Place: To the west of my house (in Portland).
Weather: No clouds, about 60 degrees F, beginnings of wind.

For some reason I feel more aware of the animals and the weather around here, maybe because in Salem everything is a little bit off; there are Gray Squirrels, not Chickarees, and Scrub Jays instead of Stellar's Jays. The air is loud here with the sounds of birds and faraway chainsaws, and some music from the tavern, instead of sirens and the train and squirrel alarms that I've been slowly getting used to. There's a very different feel to urban wildlife, and it's interesting to explore how they react to humans as opposed to wild animals reacting to humans. And I'm getting to interact with animals I wouldn't normally. Raccoons, actually, are the only constant, and also the only ones I wouldn't really want to see in the middle of the night. But I'm getting to know squirrels, and paying more attention to ants (although I should be watching more...) and water avians. It doesn't seem like they should be that different, but I guess fifty miles is a long way when it comes to nature?