Chipmunk excitement

My problem with chipmunks is that they are prey -- and, as a result, extra reclusive. At least, my resident chippies are. Next door, the little guys sit up on a stone wall, look about and pose for the tenant. But then I have a cat, which probably makes a difference.

On my back porch, there's this heap of firewood where, I believe, a chipmunk or family of same has lived for the past several years. I know because if I put raisins out next the pile, they quickly disappear. What's this got to do with the red rags above, you ask? Not rags, but a former seat cushion from last summer. I'd not been out on the porch after the weather chilled and when I finally opened the door at the end of November, I found that my critter had discovered the cushion's contents (the bluish fluff) made a perfect lining for his/her nest somewhere in the depths of all that wood.

For several months, I had noticed that the wood pile was becoming more and more messy as time passed and credited it to a sloppy job of heaping the logs. However, one night while the dotter was visiting, she heard a racket on the porch, opened the door a crack -- and scared away a raccoon, who had apparently decided on a nice meal of chipmunk.

Raccoon had moved logs away from that shadowed spot at the top of the picture (above, below) tossing them about. I guess he didn't enjoy that meal, however; I've checked by putting out a few raisins, which continue to disappear fast.

Besides -- when I went to check Chez Chipmunk late this afternoon, I discovered that someone had been moving a lot of pine cones to cover up the entrance (above). I guess my mysterious friend that I've only seen one time is still in business.

But in the meantime, I had adventure #2 with the local chipmunks. It started with a loud chirping that appeared to come from the back of the house. Tracking down the sound, I discovered that it did not originate from a window ledge outdoors as I had expected, but instead came from the bathroom, indoors.

There was Max,watching patiently, eyes on a crack between the shower and the washstand. Loud chirps were emanating from the crack. Friend Patty had arrived to play an afternoon of Scrabble and she undertook the task of capturing the chippie. He wasn't having any -- he hopped out of the crack, scampered up friend Patty, down friend Patty, climbed the walls, bounced around and finally settled...

...in the shower, where I managed to get two low light pictures. After more adventures chasing a tiny critter about a small bathroom, Patty made the capture by throwing a towel over it, tossing the towel into a wastebasket and emptying the lot outdoors. The chipmunk made very good time getting away from the house; Max shrugged and climbed into his favorite window seat for one more cat nap.

Did I mention that one year, our house was invaded by chipmunks? Maybe I'll tell that tale one of these days.