Almost a week passed since the bridge construction and despite months of planning and thousands of dollars in costs, the squirrels are ignoring the bridge so far.
Meantime the mayor of the city informed me they want to do a ribbon cutting ceremony for my squirrel bridge. Oh no, what do I do?
So, this website was created to inform local, internet-savvy teenage squirrels about the existence of the bridge.
https://youtu.be/bY1kzsB9_Cc?si=_OHDQmk5B47gVFDF
This morning I walked out of the house and saw the squirrel use the bridge.
And then another squirrel.
And another.
They don't use the bridge every single time yet, but every time they do, this is one less time they have to play the game of Russian roulette in front of the cars.
a squirrel crossing using the bridge
The squirrels and me are giving our thanks to:
opening day
The morning of the squirrel bridge ribbon-cutting, the squirrels were especially cute, and I saw them sleeping on both sides of the bridge.
squirrel napping on the north end of the bridge
squirrel napping on the south end of the bridge
By 3:30 p.m., the situation had changed. A large crowd had arrived: two police cars, Mayor Amy McHenry, the mayor's assistant, Public Works Director Steve, City Engineer Larissa, several council members, many neighbors from across the city, and even a couple who drove all the way from North Bend. It felt like there were 50 to 100 people. The squirrels were frightened, hid in the trees, and never appeared during the bridge opening ceremony. Honestly, I wished I could have hidden there too. Still, at least they didn't embarrass me by darting in front of a cop car.
squirrel bridge opening day crowds
The mayor of Duvall arrived wearing a squirrel T-shirt and read the proclamation, which had been framed and printed on an official squirrel-themed background. It was all very touching, and I'm glad so many people cared enough about the squirrels to come. My favorite moment was when Bairavi's uncle, who was visiting from India, asked me detailed questions about how the bridge was built because he felt inspired to create a similar bridge for squirrels in his city. That is incredibly cool-and exactly the kind of action we need to make the world safer for wildlife everywhere.
mayor of duvall Amy Mchenry reading proclamation
me and the mayor of duvall Amy Mchenry
the proclamation