Hawks, Possums & Raccoons, Oh My!!

One morning, I was on my way to law school. As I turned left off of Mass Ave and walked along Everett Street, I looked up at the parking garage. I felt eyes staring at me, but I did not expect to see something that seemed supernatural.

It looked like a R.A.U.S. from the Princess Bride. It was part pig, part porcupine with a huge rat tail & odd eyes. It just sat on the ledge of the second story of the parking lot, staring out at me. I was a little frightened because it did not look like a real animal, and there were no other witnesses. For the first and only time in my life, I thought it was unfortunate that I did not take drugs because I had nothing else to explain why I was hallucinating.

When I described this encounter to others, they looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, a few days later, after some research, one friend put me out of my misery and said that it was a possum. A possum!! I had never even heard of such a creature.

I know that I mention this fact a lot, but I am from NYC. If we have possums there, I did not see them. I'm sure it's possible, but like all creatures from NYC, we keep to ourselves and try not to attract our neighbors' attention.

Still, it is a surreal experience to discover that you are always in close proximity to fantastic creatures that you have only seen on television or glanced at in an encyclopedia. Years later, my law school friends and I joked about possums. We discussed it with cab drivers on the way to the movies. Possums adorned the greeting cards exchanged on birthdays. We celebrated how cool it was to encounter nature in the concrete jungle.

It does not end there. My condo has two bedrooms, and I chose the room with the best view as my bedroom/office. It may be smaller, but it was worth it. I enjoy watching the squirrels execute acrobatic maneuvers to get food off the farthest branches or doves coo in the morning.

One sunny weekend afternoon, I glanced outside my window and noticed a huge furry animal in the tree and recognized it soon thereafter. A raccoon! In the day! There were a group of people pointing at it from the sidewalk, but I had a front row view. I called all my friends, and everyone had a theory. Rabies? No. After an extensive search on the web, I discovered that it was not uncommon.

The raccoon was not my only encounter with wildlife. During the week, if I had the day off, I would notice a large bird, probably in the raptor family, land on the antenna in the building across from me. I don't have binoculars so I used my video camera to zoom in and get a better look. I only saw a fuzzy brown splotch.

One Sunday, two weeks ago, I glanced up and a huge hawk was surveying the land from the branch of a tree adjacent to my window. You may think that my awe is misplaced, but a hawk is not a pigeon. Hawks don't exactly appear in neighborhood parks to be fed bird crumbs.

I love that I live right off of Mass Ave and can still hear crickets, but Cambridge isn't special. I was fortunate enough to see a majestic Peregrine falcon perched on the 22nd floor of a big Boston law firm. At a North Shore commuter rail station, as I was going through the daily routine of walking to the train, I noticed a large, furry, adorable brown blob of a creature peeking out from a hole underneath a building.

I didn't care if I missed the train. I was not going to have another reenactment of the possum encounter and blindly grasp for a word that embodied the experience. I asked every passerby what it was. Each one was delighted at the sight, even though few could answer my question. Finally, one commuter replied, "It's a groundhog."

It is remarkable that these creatures exist, and that we live with them. I feel honored to witness them going about their daily commute, just as fascinated and curious, apprehensive and tentative, as we are. As the weather becomes warmer, please take this time to notice your smaller neighbors from afar. If you keep your eyes open and walk slower to the next appointment, you may realize that you don't need to venture into the wilderness to see wild animals.