Ever since my first encounter with the local chipmunk, I've been seeing it around a lot more. In fact, it doesn't seem to be afraid of me like the other critters in the back yard. You could even say it's become rather comfortable with my presence. So much so, I can get to within 6-8 feet of it without it running off. I'll chalk that up to the power of food and not to my irresistible charm.
A good example was the morning I walked out onto my back patio to find the chipmunk munching away on some seeds. It had most likely visited my neighbor's bird feeder. I know what you're thinking, but, the chipmunks and squirrels don't have to climb up the feeder to get to the food. The birds do a fine enough job of showering the ground with feed from above.
The critters simply need to scour the ground for all their dietary needs. Just as this chipmunk did.
This ceramic wizard figurine was a fixture in the basement of the house I grew up in. It used to have color, also. The paint slowly faded over the years until it was all but gone. The pipe still has color left in it. The wizard's left foot has also broken off. You can see laying just to it's side.
The chipmunk must have felt safe munching on it's seedy spoils under the protective shield of wizardry magic. Or, maybe it just wanted a hit off of that pipe. I don't know. The important thing is, the chipmunk didn't seem to mind me being there.
When it was finished with it's munchies, it retreated back to it's burrow. This was the first time I was able to confirm the location of the chipmunk's home. One of the entrances is located right under the steps to the back porch.
Now, I know from where it comes. This new piece of information inspired me to get some better images of the chipmunk. I had a bag of unshelled peanuts which, ironically, means they still have the shells. The perfect bait for a chipmunk. Placing a few peanuts down on the patio brick, I waited. And, not for very long, either.
The plan worked perfectly. But, I still wasn't satisfied. Remembering a viral video I had watched about a chipmunk eating an almond for the first time, I would buy a bag of raw, organic almonds the next time I was at the store. Also, as I had done more research, I learned that peanuts aren't healthy for chipmunks in abundance due to their high fat content. So, almonds would become the new bait.
Just like with the peanuts, I didn't have to wait too long. I was able to capture the first time this chipmunk ever tried an almond. Here's a gif of it...
And, so this was the routine for a few days. I would leave a little pile of almonds out, and the chipmunk would show up shortly after to bring it's treasure down into it's burrow. By this point it was so comfortable with my presence that I was able to get some good shots of it coming and going from it's home.
This whole experience has been more rewarding than I thought it would be. And, it's encouraged me to take this relationship to the next level. What could that be? That would be getting the chipmunk to take almonds directly out of my hand. Will I be successful? Well, we'll all have to wait and see. Until next time...
Wherever we are, we are surrounded by nature. It's always trying to communicate with us. Take time to notice. #NoticeNature.
