There was a hit-and-run vehicular homicide on the street in front of our house last week.
An SUV hit one of our neighbors and took off without checking to see if she was okay. She was not. The Division of Wildlife was called, who redirected the call to the police. Two squad cars came. A shot was fired. A body was removed. Her herd came back that evening to check on her, but she was gone.
A couple of weeks ago, it was The Squirrel With The Short Tail who I found murdered in the street in front of our house. She received a solemn trashcan funeral and a prayer for the forgiveness of humans in too big of a hurry to let little ones get across the street to the Burr Oak Buffet. With sassy Short Tail gone the squirrel crew who cleans up under our bird feeder was a little lost before they finally held auditions for Big Boss Squirrel.
In happier news, the hawks who sit on the power lines that run alongside the railroad tracks up the block are still helping to keep the population of rodents in check (cycle of life, not murder), and the mockingbird who flits from the woods at Bull Moose Run to those same power lines (further down the road) is still flitting. My nose tells me that our skunk friends are starting to wake up, and the chipmunks have come out from under our neighbor’s fence to hide in our woodpile between seed-grabbing forays under the bird feeder when the squirrels aren’t looking. The birds are getting loud — wrens, chickadees, cardinals, downies and hairies and flickers, robins, nuthatches, titmice, finches, and even still a few juncos. A couple of the turkey buzzards are back from their vacation down south. Most are waiting until it’s warmer. This week, friends. This week. Soon it will be time to take the two black swallowtail chrysalises out of the garage and welcome the first butterflies of the summer to fly free and help to hold off their Lepidoptiral decline.
We love our more-than-human* neighbors. Can you tell?
*The phrase “more than human” is borrowed from Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of BRAIDING SWEETGRASS and explained nicely here.
A(nother) Year of Reading 
That phrase “mote than human” is a new one to me but I will embrace it as the mama deer, robins and skunks are all scouting locations for birthing their babies! It is a challenge to embrace nature while living within a city limits!
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I’m sorry about the accident. I just hate seeing animals who have been hit by cars. It makes me so sad. It sounds like you have so many beautiful creatures as neighbors.
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I love Braiding Sweetgrass! What a game changer of a book. You had me for a minute – – I was envisioning this horrific scene of mangled human remains, then realized they were animals and not people. Still, horrific – – I absolutely cringe and have trouble going about my day when I see animals on the streets. Let it be a dog and I practically need to call in a mental health day. I’m so sorry about your neighborhood wildlife. I pray people will slow down and be patient.
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I love how you brought me in to this slice. There is definitely too much vehicular homicide going on. I’m so sorry. We don’t have deer here, but we see many of other more-than-human losses.
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I also was quite worried about what had been going on in your neighborhood–and then, once I realized what actually was going on, I realized that I still was. I’m always horribly saddened by “road kill”. I try so hard to avoid hitting anything when I drive! I even have a sticker on my computer that says “I brake for wooly bears!” I do love how we’re. having some parallel thoughts. I’m noticing subtle shifts in the season here as well –in particular, the first sightings of chipmunks and red-winged blackbirds this weekend. I also wondered out loud to Kurt this morning when the last junco would depart. They’ll be heading north soon! It’s delightful to see the loving relationship you have with your more than human neighbors.
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I love the way you drew us into this slice—and bravo for taking the time to notice all of these beautiful neighbors starting to emerge into the springtime. Too many of us are too focused on getting from point A to point B to pay attention sometimes.
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Mary Lee, that was scary to read about the hit-and-run of your neighbor, but then I figured out pretty quickly that it was a “more than human” neighbor. (I had failed to read the title. And thanks for the link to explain that term.) Thank you for caring for the Earth and its residents.
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