On the subject of Chipmunks:

I bet you didn’t know that Chipmunks are small squirrels with stripes. 

I have a Chipmunk that lives under the lighthouse in the front yard and on a steamy hot morning, this investigative reporter did some extensive research to bring you the up to date scoop.  Starting on the lower stair, my sensitive nose first traced Mr. Chipmunk around the pond, to his home, under the light house.  I then proceeded to follow his trail along the fence and out onto the street, hoping for a brief glance or perhaps an interview.  I sniffed intensely around the wheels of the nearby car, as I know he scurries underneath on his way across the street.  Alas I was unsuccessful for a personal interview this morning, but upon returning to my house, I proceeded to research this cute little critter’s history.

My ancestral family came from Yorkshire England in the 19^th century where they were trained to catch rats (rodents) in the textile mills, so I am uniquely qualified to report on this subject.

Chipmunks are small mammals that belong to the Scientific Order “Rodentia”. The word Rodent comes from the ancient human language called “Latin” and it means to gnaw, because, ( and I bet you didn’t know this either ) they have 2 front teeth, in their upper and lower jaw, that always continue to grow and if they didn’t gnaw, those teeth would grow to China.

(Well maybe not China, I used to freelance for Fox news and they taught me bad reporting habits).

Some other animals that are rodents, who live nearby are, Squirrels, Groundhogs, and those pesky Rats and Mice, but not rabbits (Rabbits belong to the Scientific Order “Lagomorpha” and have 4 upper front teeth a cute round tail, and Shush!, don’t laugh, their balls are on backwards, that’s right, they are in front of their “Winky” not behind.  YES ! But I will report on that another day, I like Rabbits and see them every morning too). 

Chipmunks are Omnivores, (that’s another one of those human “Latin” words that, means they eat everything) Grains, nuts, fruits, berries, bird eggs, small frogs (Oh! not frogs, I like frogs), worms, insects and on occasions, small mice. (Right on, they can eat the mice).  I bet you thought they only ate nuts. WRONG!  Toward the winter they will stockpile these things in their homes.  (I wonder if they have a refridgetaytor, like I have in my home)  NAHHhh! I don’t think it would fit under the lighthouse but this is anecdotal wisdom not sound research, on my part.

They are really good “Cavators” (I have been told that I am an “Ex Cavator”) and build elaborate burrows (that’s a hole to you lay folk) that generally start under rocks or Logs that can be 30 feet or more, with a lot of hidden entrances’.  There are no dirt mounds around the entrances as they carry away the dirt in their cheeks and cover them with leaves. (Yuck!) I know where one of the entrances is because I pass it every morning on my walk, and have a sniff.  They sleep in an area that they keep very clean, but also have messy rooms, in their home, full of garbage and poop. Chipmunks are important to the ecology, because they help plant seeds to propagate the plants and trees.  Finally, they sleep about 15 hours a day and that’s something I can empathize with, I am off to take a nap, myself.

There you have it, that’s the truth, cross my paws.  Until next time.

Coming Soon: Dog Parks and Shish Kabob (if you have a topic you would like me to discuss, drop me a line.)