A drop in, er, of the bucket

People talk about the urban jungle. In fact, when my family sent me out to St. Louis, they sent me equipped with a very reliable car. I think my dad, especially, worried about the apparently certain mugging that would happen every time I stopped at a red light. The headlines declaring St. Louis the most dangerous city in the country could not have soothed his fears. Today I can attest that where I live is indeed a wild place.

A vicious assailant shattered my sense of security just two days ago. I was taken completely unawares, and at first I could do nothing but freeze. Although someone saying "hello" is enough to make me jump sometimes, this time it was justifiable. Imagine long, spindly legs flying so fast they are a blur coming straight at you. It was unnerving. Luckily for me, I've taken a self-defense class, so it didn't take long for me to regain my composure. I reached for the nearest weapon I could find: a common plastic bucket. In my hands, however, it was anything but harmless; it was lethal. My attacker's legs popped off and continued to quiver for several minutes. Peace and order were once again restored, although I was left pretty creeped out. After the legs stopped trembling, I moved the bucket and sweeped the carcass into my dustpan. At this point, it was no longer recongizable as a house centipede (a joy not shared by my family in the desert).

My experience of the jungle that is St. Louis is not limited to that one episode. Today, in fact, during a lovely walk in the cool of the morning, tufts of what looked like cotton floated down from overhead. Curious, I took a closer look and realized that it was bird down. Perched in the trees above sat a large bird. I should say more specifically that it was a hawk plucking the feathers off of its unfortunate meal. Yum. Hungry?

Thankfully, my experience of St. Louis wildlife hasn't been all alarming. In fact, I've seen beautiful cardinals and woodpeckers and even come across a couple of these in Forest Park:
He had a friend, but the friend was a bit more skiddish and I wasn't able to get a picture. It really made me smile.

So, while it is a jungle out there, I think I'll survive. Well, that is if I can evade the blood-sucking bunnies and the rabid squirrels. They'll get you every time.