Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 10 September, 2008
Time: 1030-1045
Place: North of the Chicken Fountain on the path between the fountain and Jackson Square.
Weather: Very warm and sunny, 79°F.
I’m walking along the path towards the Chicken Fountain from the library, and on my right I see a flash of gray movement, which I assume is a squirrel. As I draw level to it all I can see is the tail, which is parallel to the tree but out to the side. I begin to stalk it without making any conscious decision to do so, but it’s a good thing the fountain is there because it masks any noise I’m making. Then suddenly I’m looking at a squirrel. It’s not flat against the tree, although from a distance it might look that way. Only the claws are really attached, and the head is sticking out, staring at something that I can’t see, or maybe it’s listening. Its whole body is quivering, and the feet are so tensed that I can almost see the bones of the feet. The tail is closest to me as the squirrel is upside down on the tree, and the hairs on the tail are amazingly long and each one is multicolored with bands of black, gray, and tan. I reach out with one finger and touch the tail, but the squirrel still doesn’t move. Is it so scared that it can’t move, or does it really not care that I’m standing there, or does it not know I’m there? A few seconds later a bicyclist goes past and the squirrel flies off the tree and into a nearby rhododendron. I go back to the path to see if I can continue watching it from there, but it’s gone.
Date: 10 September, 2008
Time: 1030-1045
Place: North of the Chicken Fountain on the path between the fountain and Jackson Square.
Weather: Very warm and sunny, 79°F.
I’m walking along the path towards the Chicken Fountain from the library, and on my right I see a flash of gray movement, which I assume is a squirrel. As I draw level to it all I can see is the tail, which is parallel to the tree but out to the side. I begin to stalk it without making any conscious decision to do so, but it’s a good thing the fountain is there because it masks any noise I’m making. Then suddenly I’m looking at a squirrel. It’s not flat against the tree, although from a distance it might look that way. Only the claws are really attached, and the head is sticking out, staring at something that I can’t see, or maybe it’s listening. Its whole body is quivering, and the feet are so tensed that I can almost see the bones of the feet. The tail is closest to me as the squirrel is upside down on the tree, and the hairs on the tail are amazingly long and each one is multicolored with bands of black, gray, and tan. I reach out with one finger and touch the tail, but the squirrel still doesn’t move. Is it so scared that it can’t move, or does it really not care that I’m standing there, or does it not know I’m there? A few seconds later a bicyclist goes past and the squirrel flies off the tree and into a nearby rhododendron. I go back to the path to see if I can continue watching it from there, but it’s gone.
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