We’ve heard that living at Elizabethtown College can be hard sometimes, with classes and laundry and all sorts of human-sounding responsibilities. All that is a little strange sounding to us: we squirrels don’t have any problems at all! Everyone at Etown is so nice, especially this time of year when we like to play outside in the cool weather.
Some squirrels in other places seem to be afraid of humans when they come around, but not us! All the students, professors and staff at Etown treat us very nicely. We especially like to hang around by the Peace Garden. Lots of students stop to eat and read under the trees, which is perfect for us! We find lots of yummy snacks on the ground and like to peek at what everyone is reading. Squirrels around the Peace Garden learn a lot about humans from what they’re reading. It almost makes us wish we had opposable thumbs so we could write great things too!
Another thing us squirrels love to do is watch people as they walk by. When we aren’t climbing trees, you might be able to find us running in between Brinser and Ober. Although we know the humans at Etown would never hurt us, they are a lot bigger than us. Sometimes we run away if you show up suddenly or if you’re being too loud. If a human is quiet and calm, though, we might want to sit and watch for a while.
A few of the humans seem to like us just as much as we like them! All the squirrels at Etown love compliments (even if we can be shy about receiving them), so don’t be afraid to talk about us! It’s nice to be appreciated. We think humans are pretty neat too, with their backpacks and shoes and forks and things.
Since winter is coming, we’re starting to get ready for a long nap. In the meantime, we’ve been having a blast playing in the trees. Sometimes we can get a little loud, but we have to get all our energy out before it gets too cold! At the same time, we are working hard to get ready for winter. We’ve been gathering food, but we always have time to say hello! If you see us trying to sneak a look at you through the trees, we probably want to see what you’re reading. We may not be smart college students, but we have gotten pretty good at reading and love a good book. If you’re reading anything special, be sure to bring it with you next time you stop underneath a tree!
