Awe Crikey!

Attention all untamed animals, 3 Speen Street has officially become Framingham’s own Wildlife Refuge. Open all four seasons.

Having survived almost two years of our office building’s wildlife and meteorological cycle, I have learned that with each season comes a new animal for all those animal peeping enthusiasts.

Beginning and end of winter brings roaming birds who are travelling for the change in season. While usually I am a fan of any kind of bird in the winter, as it signifies warm weather and spring, I do not enjoy the gifts they leave all over my car. If I had wanted Sassy to be black with white polka dots, I would have bought her as such, but thank you for the kind sentiment, Tweety.

Summer brings the overzealous and overweight squirrel. 3 Speen Street enjoys fostering these little hand puppets by leaving a buffet of delicious squirrel delicacies in stocked trash cans, not 20 feet from the front door, and not 5 from our multi-functioning picnic/bbq area. Being that my alma mater was home to the world's most obese and agressive squirrels, I am somewhat unbothered by these trash can diggers, however, many of my co-workers have yet to cohabitate with them as well as I can. Bright side? I now have a reason to use the one word I managed to learn and retain while Steffi, our German coworker, visited from Munich. Pronounced "Esch-orn-schen" in German, squirrel is a German word that will no doubt be utilized in the coming months.

Fall brings the turkey, but not just one turkey…usually its an entire 5-8 fowl contingency. The turkeys change our tranquil office wildlife sanctuary to a tense migration ground. While they move in slowly, their stealth moving turkey coup-d'etat astutely organize small revolutions against our office building, eventually prominently perching outside a large glass window by our main entrance. Last season’s turkey highlights include: a turkey barricade at the front door, complete with spitfest to threaten any professional daring enough to challenge them in a turf battle (um, I will go in the side entrance, thank you very much,) as well as their green initiative, where turkeys sat on top and protested the use of employee cars, thereby reducing our building’s carbon omitting gases (we can most likely thank Al Gore for that mishap.) Oddly enough, said birds always mysteriously disappear just prior to Thanksgiving. Coincidence? I think not.

Spring is usually a transition month, where I can leave the office in peace without worrying about a surprise attack from a turkey, squirrel, or flying bird poop. This spring, however, the good word has spread, and we now welcome a new member to the 3 Speen Street Wildlife Sanctuary. As I was walking out of my office today, ready to battle the elements (yet another wall of rain,) I saw a warning sign posted on the front door of our building: “Warning. Raccoon has been spotted in this area. Proceed with caution.” I do not like raccoons, the obvious exception being Rocky, my childhood stuffed animal a la raccoon. I especially dislike raccoons when they are seemingly disoriented in broad daylight. Unless my relationship with said animals is going to be anything comparable to a typical Disney movie, (think Cinderella’s bird friends gone maid, or mice friends gone seamstresses) I do not foresee that I will enjoy the newest addition to our workplace family.

Here is to another “run from the office to the car” season, and a hope that the raccoon doesn’t hide under my car to rabie-fy me as I step into my car…and don’t act like you are surprised that I would actually worry about something like that.