A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

A couple of years ago I was standing at my kitchen window, which faces our backyard and I was watching Jake do some dorky thing, and I happened to noticed something that looked liked eyes twinkling in our round fir tree . There is a little Hole in the middle of it ( see the photo) and something was staring at me!!! At first I am thinking S N A K E. But that's what I always think when I see something in our yard that moves. I do not like snakes. It rarely is a snake , but sometimes it is. I approached carefully reconsidering that it is probably a bird, maybe. but when I get close enough I see the most adorable tiny tiny chipmunk. He is no bigger than a walnut. So Cute. Instantly I fell in love with this little guy. We love nuts and always have some kind of supply on hand so I rushed back in the house got some cashews and sunflower seeds, wash all the salt off them and take them back to the Hole in the tree. He's Gone. Dang. I leave the nuts anyway. Maybe He'll be back.

Well, the next day the nuts were still there. So I figured he probably went back to his home,( do chipmunks have homes?) Anyway two days later I am working on staining our fence and see a few of the sunflower seeds and one cashew sitting on the rails of our fence. Ye pee!! He's back. He' moved the nuts to the fence . So I continue to leave nuts for him everyday. Most of them are disappearing quickly. But I never see him again. Shy?, Scared?, Um, I don't know.

A month later about Four O'clock in the morning I hear a very strange noise. It sounds a lot like one of Jake's toys squeaking. Jake's laying beside the bed, it's not him, so I go back to sleep. Next Morning around Four O'clock the same noise wakes me up. And again the following Morning. Its still dark outside so I can't see anything. One afternoon I hear the noise. Finally, I can peak around the yard and find out what in the world all the squeaking is about. And sitting in the Hole is my little chipmunk. He is a big boy now. I call him Chip. He gets more nuts everyday and it quickly becomes a bit of a habit that he actually squeaks or barks when he wants to be feed.

This goes on for a long time.

One of our neighbors, who is a great guy, and loves animals, has added several bird houses to his own backyard. One day he asks me if I have seen any of those "pesky chipmunks" around. I lie,Um, No, As I casually brush the cashews off the fence. He says a while back he had to get rid of a couple of them that were getting into his bird seed. So, Now I am a little Scared for Chip.

Time goes by . Chip is so funny the way he always barks for food. It's a real game. He has become a friend.

Quite some time passes. Then My Neighbor sees me outside and excitedly announces that he has finally taken care of that darn chipmunk that keeps climbing into his bird houses and making a mess. C H I P!! Oh my gosh, Chip. I ask him what he's talking about and I think he can tell I am a little panicked. He then says he has simply "relocated him". WHAT? Oh , he just took him down to the end of the road where there is a nice wooded area a gave him a new home. That better be true.

Poor Chip. Chip doesn't live on this old block anymore. I Hope he finds another fir tree and lives happily ever after. I still leave a few nuts on our fence , Just in case......,,