Adirondack Chippy
The workday was good, long, but good. I was so busy all day that the day went by very fast, even though I worked until just after 6pm. Then, I took the plunge and went to the gym. The first time I've been to the gym since before the pandemic. I've been slowly getting back to normal life and getting back to the gym was a huge leap toward getting back to it. Yet, a much needed thing to do since I was always a gym goer before the pandemic. And now, almost 3 years without it, I'm clearly out of shape. Partly because this past year was so tough after losing my boyz and then starting a new job within my company. Working out fell to the bottom of my list, but, now it's time to take charge and get back into things. It felt great to be there.
In addition to getting my life back to normal, there have been many things on my mind lately and one of them is "camp" and "camping season". There's still four more months until I get up there an open, but all I can help wonder now is... "Will the kitties like it? Will they be ok on the 3 hour drive there and back? How much are they going to love watching chipmunks come up to the sliding glass door and look in?". So many thoughts crossing through my mind, including, what are all the things I need to get for the kitties for camp. I'm sure I'll spend the next four months shopping for that long list of items I've identified needing for them.
As I think about the kitties going to camp and their new friends, my chipmunks, it makes me think about my lil friends. I hope they are having a good winter and are staying safe. I'm also hoping that the red squirrels don't take over again like they did last season. Last season was tough as I witnessed an ermine kill and take away two of my chippie friends, one of them being my favorite chippie. That was devastating. Then after the ermine moved on, the red squirrels moved in and chased my chippies away. By the end of the season, I hardly had chippies left as the red squirrels had completely taken over. So now, all I can do is hope those squirrels moved on over the winter and my chippie friends all return in early May when I get back up there.
There are so many things I like about my chippies. For starters, they are so easy to work with. All I need are peanuts and sunflower seeds and I can win over their trust. Over the years, I've had so many that would hop on my lap and let me pet them. The best is when I first arrive after being away all winter and the warm greeting I get from the ones I tamed the previous year. They are just so happy to see me. They'll hang out on my deck and they'll even come up my stairs and look into the camper for me. Last year, I had two accidentally run into the camper. It sure was a challenge to get them back out after they accidentally got in. Clearly, they've given me a lot of material to tell some good stories.
Mid season last year, my neighbors up there got me an Adirondack Chair bird feeder and I thought it was the sweetest and cutest gift. My first thought was to remove the pieces to hang it and use it as a chair for my little furry friends. What a great idea and so much fun watching the chipmunks go to it to get peanuts. I took tons of photo's. I'm even planning to share one of those shots for today's blog. It was such a great prop for my friends since we are in the Adirondack Mountains.
Chipmunks are small and cute rodents found in North America. They are a burrowing animal and make very impressive tunnel systems underground that generally have more than one entry/exit. They tend to nest twice a year, first in spring and then in late summer. In the really hot summer months, they may spend a little more time underground as it is a natural air conditioning system and then in winter, they will spend most of the winter underground. In anticipation for their hibernation, the spend all spring, summer, and fall collecting and storing food for those long and cold winter months. Chipmunks diet consists of nuts, berry's, and grubs. Although they are part of the rodent family, they are really cute and sweet natured towards humans when humans take out the time to work with them. I do consider my chippies to be my outdoor and semi-independent pets. They sure do bring me joy!
