100 things blogging challenge: 13

[untonuggan]

For my Aussie friends, who don't have much experience with squirrels, a history of squirrels in Washington, DC from the Washington Post.

An excerpt:

"A little more than a century ago, the District's downtown parks and green spaces didn't have a squirrel population to speak of. Eastern gray squirrels are native to this area, but they had been largely wiped out in the most urban parts of town by the late 19th century because of hunting, which wasn't outlawed in much of the city until 1906.

Looking to fill the squirrel vacuum, nature lovers, government officials and other civic-minded residents in the early 1900s pushed to have areas including Lafayette Square, the U.S. Capitol grounds and the Mall stocked with squirrels. "Several Pairs of Interesting Little Animals to Be Set Free Among the Trees" read a 1901 headline in The Washington Post, announcing plans by the Architect of the Capitol to introduce squirrels to the grounds."

Comments

[spaceoperadiva]

That's really fascinating. We saw plenty of squirrels a few years ago when we took a homeschooling trip to D.C.

Artificial wildernesses fascinate me. I think parks are the most extreme manifestation of artificial wilderness. The great outdoors, carefully manicured and staged to best soothe the heart of savage and fearful urban dwellers. We can go outside, and not have to deal with any of the icky or truly alarming parts. It amuses me since I'm a camper/hiker/swim in the untreated river type, but I admit that I love the carefully planned artificial wildernesses too.

[untonuggan]

Parks are rather interesting, aren't they? Especially when one delves into the whole Teddy Roosevelt history of the US National Park System: "Oh No Our Young Men Have No Outdoorz They Will Stop Being Manly! Make Parkz so That They May Hunt!" (Possible TMI: the French Ambassador to the US wrote lots of letters home asking to be transferred because TR kept making him go skinny dipping in Rock Creek Park so they could be all Ooo Arr Manly Menz together.)

Isn't it fun what you learn with an otherwise unused history degree?

I love gardening (mostly under supervision, as I live with family and the garden Belongs To My Mother, so I do what she tells me to when my body lets me). It is definitely controlled nature, but it's kind of amazing what's happened now that we've moved into a new place and started planting wildlife-friendly plants. The people who lived here before used to have the backyard sprayed for mosquitos (and gods know what other friendly insects died in the process). I put up a birdfeeder, and my mom planted some butterfly-friendly plants, and suddenly, BOOM, wildlife. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, wrens, chickadees, cardinals, squirrels, chipmunks, butterflies, etc. I suppose I should be less excited because I may have Lyme disease and you know, ticks, but I figure I'll just do tick checks and wear repellant. I'm too busy having fun watching all the critters outside.