Horror on The Bike Commute

As I tooled along up Fairfax Street, about 2 miles from home, this afternoon I saw a scene of horror and misery playing out in the front yard of a neat little house.

A cat had caught a squirrel, and was "playing" with it, the way cats are known to "play" with mice. I stopped at the corner and turned to watch. I wasn't sure what was happening, at first, having seen the action out of the corner of my eye.

Sure enough, the cat would bat the squirrel around for a while, then step back. The squirrel would then try to climb the tree under which all this was happening. The cat would let the squirrel climb about a foot up, then he would grab the rodent by the back and drag him a few feet from the tree and bat him around, some more.

All the while, another squirrel was up in the tree, barking and chirping and hissing at the cat.

This was no baby squirrel that the cat was messing around with. It was almost as big as the cat, and was longer if you counted the tail.

I could only take a couple of minutes of this, and I eventually rode on. I didn't think it would be prudent to intervene (people are funny about you messing with their pets).

Disturbing to watch, though.

Sometimes, the more intimate connection you have with your surroundings while on a bicycle is a double-edged sword.

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