A Sleepy Girl's Thoughts on Life

Animal Encounters

I know what it's like to live in an area with wild animals. I grew up in a house where squirrels, deer, wolves, beaver, turkey vultures, groudhogs, hawks and bats are normal, every day occurences. However, I did not expect a similar animal infestation when I moved to my apartment on the outskirts of DC. Despite the urban trappings of streets, big parking lots and cars, not to mention lots of people walking around, the animals still seem to inhabit every little bit of park-like ground they can find. And by "park-like," I mean an odd tree or patch of grass.

Here are a few little creatures I have personally encountered:

The rats. Sitting outside on a bench one day at dusk, I heard a scurrying noise in the bushes nearby. Suddenly, a large rodent popped out and ran across a sidewalk to another bush. Seconds later, another rat appeared and they continued frolicking together as I watched in horror. Honestly, I have nothing against them other than the fact that they are DIRTY VERMIN. They make me feel like I don't live in a good, clean or otherwise non-disgusting place.

The birds. Right outside the main door to my apartment building, there is a large tree. In this tree are hundreds of wild birds that chirp 24 hours a day. And when you've got that many birds chirping at the same time, it is quite unpleasant...I can't even imagine living in an apartment right by the tree (It would be like that Seinfeld episode where Elaine/Jerry/someone throws water on the doves outside the window to shut them up in the middle of the night). Again, I've got nothing against these birds--in fact, I am a bird lover--but I just don't understand the appeal of a tree next to the constantly banging doorof a populated apartment building.

Postscript: Lately I've noticed an erie silence whenever I walk out of the building, and I've finally realized the problem...the birds are gone! Maybe they went south for the winter? Or maybe someone threw some hot water at them...

The raccoon. Yes, this is for real. I observed a raccoon crawl out from under a car and into the freaking sewer. And it wasn't even dark outside. Again, it was that dusky, almost-dark time of evening...apparently this is the time for all manner of animals to come out of hiding and wreak havoc. Anyway, I think the raccoon disturbs me the most out of my animal encounters. Everyone knows raccoons are dirty, scavenger animals often seen cowering next to knocked-over trash cans. Yeah, they kind of look like cute little striped bears, but I don't want them in my living space.

Before concluding, let me just say that I love animals. I do. And I understand that they were on this Earth first and we have invaded their turf and blah, blah, blah. I just find it odd to see them so often in such an urban area. Maybe this is a sign that we need to slow down and quit building condos on every corner.

But anyway, please take this post with a grain of salt. I'm writing partially in jest, just like the time I wrote an editorial called "Squirrels Suck" for my college newspaper urging people on campus to throw things at squirrels and form a squirrel hunting club. It was really just a joke fueled by my growing annoyance at the over-population of squirrels on campus. But of course, the next day we received a bunch of letters condemning us for our "insensitive treatment of these harmless little creatures."

Dirty little animals: You either love 'em... or you want to run them over in your car.

posted by Sleepy Girl @ 3:25 PM