Rose Dickson
10 September 2008
1250 – 1310 hours
West side of the art building on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA
50 degrees, mostly cloudy
Since I was young I have been haunted by an extremely irrational fear of squirrels. In my colloquium class, Willamette Naturalist 2.0, we have spent many afternoons observing and experimenting with squirrels. Just my luck! Today I decided to face my fear, as our class walked to the Native American exhibit at the Hallie Ford Museum in Salem, OR, we noticed a bizarre visitor. A baby squirrel, still living in ignorance, approached our class with curiosity and wonder. At first this little visitor undeniably freaked the living daylights out of me. However, as I observed it longer, I noticed how harmless and interesting this young squirrel really was. He was not approaching our class to hurt us or bite us, as I had so often imagined. Rather, he was just as interested and curious about me as I was in him. This experience reminded me that Willamette University campus, a territory we so often claim as our own, belongs just as much to this youngster as it does to me. We need to learn to live together with a mutual respect. As he approached my feet, I began to feel more and more empathetic towards this individual. I waited for him to feel comfortable and I reached down to pet him. To my surprise he accepted it! Unfortunately, my excitement scared him away, however, I was not ready to give up. I followed the young squirrel and as we became more aware and accepting of each other I reached down and actually was able to pick him up! This engagement only lasted moments before he realized he didn’t want to be a part of it and scurried away. I, however, was very excited about this experience and feel I now have a better view and greater respect for squirrels. Firsthand experiences really do give you another side to the story.
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