Little Tricks of Nature

Last fall a plea went out from the Humane Society – I believe it was – for people to “foster” litters of squirrels that had been born late in the season. Apparently the early arrival of warm weather had encourage an unprecedented level of the sort of activity that guarantees an increase in the rodent population of our mighty metropolis. Though they aren’t mentioned in Cole Porter’s famous song apparently squirrels do do it – and last year they did it with a vengeance. And if proof were needed simply stepping out the back entrance to our building is all that’s needed – and stepping out of the building with Nora guarantees that the presence of chattering, scampering black or gray rodents will be well noted – by half the neighborhood.

Offered with apologies to Quentin Tarantino.

Our Nora comes from a long line of hunters – as oft mentioned her mother, the lovely Lucy, is a champion boar hunter in Italy. And Nora has inherited all her mother’s hunting instincts and the truly frightening hound howl that echoes many mornings across the Canal. Failing the presence of any great number of boars in the area our girl has decided that the pursuit of Sciurus carolinensis is a fair enough substitute. Many of our neighbours are in full support of her decision and would be more than thrilled should she succeed in “decreasing the surplice population”.

However there is one gentleman who has made it his mission to show up every night at 1800 with bags of nuts which he distributes around the neighbourhood. Now whatever you say about squirrels – and believe me the people around here have much to say about squirrels, none of it printable in what is after all a family blog – they are bright little creatures. They know this gentleman will show up every evening and at 1800 precisely they appear lurking around the edges of the landscape like creatures in a Stephan King novel. Why spend all that time foraging when you know the nutty Good Humour man will be making his appointed rounds like clockwork.

And if further proof is needed of the intelligence of these ubiquitous pests this little scene caught my eye on Friday afternoon as I was walking home through Confederation Park.

Why do I honestly believe if the earth is flattened in one of those cataclysmic accidents beloved of Hollywood and young video game players that the only thing left will be ants, dandelions and… squirrels?

03 June – 1889 – The transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway is completed.

A Hitchcock Moment

Monday February 4, 2008 – 6 P.M.

This afternoon around five as I sat working in what we laughing call the Office – in better days it would have been the maid’s room, a very small maid I might add – I became aware of the most incredible sound. It was a buzzing, flapping, whistling noise that sounded vaguely familiar; somewhere I had heard that sound before. And then it hit me: The Birds! Tippi Hedren!

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I looked out the back window and there were thousands of swallows: hundreds perching on, as hundreds more swarmed around and into, the surrounding pines tree. The noise was almost deafing. I ran for the camera but it wasn’t until later I remembered the video feature and caught the tail end of the event. Laurent saw them heading up Via Nomentana towards Porta Pia and said it was like an enormous – very noisy – cloud.

Ten minutes later there wasn’t a bird in sight nor a chirp to be heard.

4 febbraio – San Gilberto

Tenacity

Main Entry: te·na·cious
Pronunciation: t&-‘nA-sh&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, from tenEre to hold
1a: not easily pulled apart: COHESIVE
b: tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance
2a: persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired
b: RETENTIVE
Synonym see STRONG
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary

Don’t Fence Me In!

Back in 1987 we spent Easter Weekend visiting Palanque – it was an incredible experience on more levels than could be imagined – scenically, archaeologically, historically and from a travel anecdote angle (a hotel on stilts over a mosquito-infested swamp, contentious French tour groups, and threats to call the Governor of Chiapas.) However one of the lasting images was the jungle vegetation insinuating itself into the fabric of the city. One of the guide books suggested that if left unattended the jungle would, once again, reclaim the temple complex within a few years – nature always takes back her own.

Well that side fence in my backyard is a great example of that phenomena. Our yard is surrounded by mature trees – unfortunately some of them are that dandelion of arboriculture, the Manitoba Maple. Once the MM has planted it’s seed (you should excuse the expression!) and has taken root nothing will stand in its way. Obviously this slat from the fence first had the nails knocked out of it, then was pushed to one side and finally surrounded by the growing tree. This man-handled piece of wood didn’t stand a chance against one of its living, growing relatives.

Ain’t nature incredible.