I saw a black squirrel today (I didn't have my camera, though, so this isn't my picture, and because it's a picture of, you know, a squirrel, I feel it would be silly to cite my source). I've never seen one before. Apparently, they're a melanistic subgroup of the Eastern Gray Squirrel (according to Wikipedia). They do well in the Northeast because of their increased cold tolerance, and they're unusually common in DC. Anyway, I never knew they were a thing, and did a total double take when I saw it, which made me feel a little bit squirrel racist. "Doesn't mean [I] go around committing hate cri-i-imes...* In case you're wondering why I'm dwelling on this (which you're not, but I'm going to tell you anyway), it's because I had a crap-tastic day and seeing the squirrel was the best part. BUT. Never fear. Tomorrow is sure to be better, for tomorrow is Apply For An Apartment Day! Hooray! Stay tuned.
*This is from "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q, P.S. I haven't completely lost it. It was a relevant digression.
non-portland colored squirrels also freak me out, don't worry.
ReplyDeleteIt kind of reminds me of the skunk in the movie, "Over the Hedge," that gets all black to pretend it's a cat.
ReplyDeleteI saw one in Vancouver BC last year. I followed him around for a long time taking pictures while Adam was taking pictures of things normal people would like. Here is my squirrel. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/photo.php?pid=30216508&id=146200091&ref=fbx_album He looks more chocolate brown in this picture, but I remember being impressed by his dark color regardless.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comment on my blog the other day. Photography compliments always make me feel giddy. Gracias.
ReplyDeleteSorry -- no commentary on the black squirrels.
A bunch of people in my class freaked out about some raccoons today. It was great. New animals are fun. AND that squirrel is freaky.
ReplyDeletei remember when i saw my first black squirrel in d.c. we had a sign at the zoo specifically about black squirrels because they throw so many people off.
ReplyDelete