Squirrel crash

Last fall I heard on NPR that their was an acorn crash throughout the eastern United States (this was discussed elsewhere at the time). I did notice that, compared to the year before, there weren't as many acorns lying under the oak tree by my apartment entrance and I was almost never startled by the crack of an acorn landing on the tin roof over my doorway (not actually a bad thing—acorns are loud). I also noticed that the osage orange tree a few blocks down only gave up a couple measly hedgeapples all season instead of the more normal 10-15 a day smashed in the road.

Where it really showed though, was in the squirrels. Del Ray's squirrels are (or were) really assertive. And plentiful. Unlike Richmond squirrels, which coyly scamper up tree trunks and peep out at passersby, or Boston squirrels which waddle along behind you and demand popcorn (fattest squirrels I've ever seen, the size of cats), Del Ray squirrels would sit in the middle of the sidewalk and play chicken with you as you walked up, and were just generally maddening. One day my landlady would smooth out the mulch in her flowerbeds and by the next morning the mulch would be full of divots from squirrel activity.

I figured that the acorn shortage would take care of some of that, and I was right. The squirrel population thinned considerably. My aunt in Pennsylvania noticed it too. Usually taking her fox terriers for a walk was an adventure in staying vertical because the dogs were always dashing off after squirrels. Not a problem this year. And my landlady's flowerbeds were relatively undisturbed (at least until her giant puppy got to them).

I've noticed much less squirrel attitude in Del Ray too … up until a few weeks ago when the acorns started dropping. The squirrels who survived the Great Acorn Famine of '08 are getting pretty damn cocky already. Sitting on the chain link fences and watching me with their beady little eyes as I walk by, instead of running away like prey animals are supposed to.

I would have thought that the survivor squirrels would have been the members of the gene pool with the best capacity for laying on and retaining fat, breaking into birdfeeders, and remembering where the goodies are buried. I was wrong. Another neighborhood resident enlightened me when she told me about how she dropped peanuts out her window every week to attract squirrels for the entertainment of her (indoor) cat. I told her, "You've upset natural selection! You've gone and selected for the bold squirrels!"

So things are pretty much back to normal, squirrel-wise.

Resilient little buggers.