The Hawks and the Black Squirrels

A week ago I experienced the great surprise of an unexpected intruder in the studio: a black squirrel. Although our unique furry friend is the unofficial mascot of Kent, it is not appreciated on the fourth floor of Taylor Hall. Luckily, its visits are fairly infrequent; last Saturday was an exception.

Hard at work, Nick's concentration was broken by a scurrying under his desk. He whirled around to glimpse a quickly moving black spot. Confusion mixed with excitement ensued in what would appear to any onlooker as a group of giddy children chasing a cat around a house.

"Where'd it go?"

"Oh! There it is!"

"Where?"

"Behind the pillar!"

"Oh man, get it outta here!"

"Look there it goes!"

After following the frightened animal across to the second year studio we realized there were two of them; two black squirrels on the fourth floor at the same time, how excitng! We met a mirror of ourselves in a group of equally excited and a bit confused second years. They were attempting to chase the other squirrel out of the building and into the clutching talons of a hawk, of which there were two staking out their would-be dinner had the squirrels not found refuge in the studio. One of the squirrels disappeared into the heaters that line the perimeter of the studio. We could hear it scuffling around the small warm place and wondered to each other if it would get stuck. Someone asked aloud where the second hawk had gone. As if to answer himself, there was a swooping flurry of brown and white from the top corner of the building. Everyone sighed and all eyes followed the graceful predator as it circled over the Honors College and beyond the Art Building. Soon to follow was the other hawk, which had perched in a tree directly across from Taylor Hall. They would catch their dinner elsewhere. We were left to hope the two squirrels would find their way out of studio without doing their business on any projects.

...carolyn