Squirrel on a wall

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-16
Location: Japanese Garden north of Olin's
Time: 1125-1141
Weather: 54˚F, clear skies

A sudden sharp bark pulled me away from my contemplations. I noticed an eastern grey squirrel perched on top of a wooden wall of the Japanese Garden staring intently over at the shrubs lining the north wall of Olin’s. I was barking at an unseen object, not even aware of my presence. As it cried out, it’s long furred tail twitched vertically in the intervals of the barks, ending in a slight gentle wave due to the force of the effort. Barking seemed more as a call to an enemy but not one its necessarily afraid of. For instance, each time I went into a squirrel’s territory, barking would be directed at me. However, the one day I heard a high pitched scream was when there was supposedly some threat nearby, and the shriek was used to warn others around it of the danger. Curious as to what its foe was this time, after the squirrel seemed to eat something out of its paws and left the area, I searched through the shrubbery. The vegetation had 4-inch long leaves with parallel venations. Small white flowers grew, approximately 5 petals per blossom with a red mite scurrying around. Several bubble flowers that I mentioned in a previous blog, grew intermittently. I heard a rummaging underneath. Was it another squirrel? In a flash, a small brown bird flew low across the path into the garden. Following its general direction, I saw another squirrel with a nut clutched in its paws yet no bird. I noticed the garden was in a bit of disarray, with an incongruous orange safety cone in a corner. The wilderness seemed to be trying to claim back the land while man was fighting back.