Thursday, July 14, 2005
Chipmunk Antics
The long 4th of July weekend was hot and humid. I spent a good bit of the afternoons on the back porch, under the ceiling fan, rocking on the glider, sipping my ubiquitous iced tea, and reading the new Elmore Leonard novel (The Hot Kid). I was contemplating and enjoying not mowing the lawn. A swift movement attracted my attention; a chipmunk had teleported to the edge of the decking. He peered out from under the railing, suspiciously eyeing me and the cat in the rocking chair. He dashed under the end of the glider while I maintained the status quo (rocking and not watching him directly). A few seconds later, I heard a rustling in the cat’s food bowl. The chipmunk was sitting on the edge of the bowl, stuffing its cheeks with nuggets of dry cat food. When fully stocked, it scampered back under the glider, across the porch, tail held straight and high, and headed to the rock pile at the end of the garden.