The Chipmunks Move In!

It seems there is a mix of opinions about chipmunks out there on the interwebs, with some folks insisting they're mostly harmless and others going to great lengths to exterminate them as pests. I've always liked those rascals, but I also haven't had much exposure to them. I don't remember them being around the yard where I grew up, but a couple lived in and around the courtyard of Kitchin House when I was the dorm director there in grad school at Wake Forest.

Beginning this summer, though, I started seeing one regularly scurrying from a yard across Spring Street and running about amidst the low plants and in the monkey grass. I started trying to snag a photo but wasn't having much luck:

Too far away, even with my long lens, and blurry because I wasn't prepared with my tripod. Plus, they move like a shot! A few weeks later, I got a slightly better but still distant shot:

You see, I'd already startled him and he ran over to the next door neighbor's and perched on her yard chair. The next morning, in early June, with wonderful clear skies and gentle breezes and temps, I decided to drink coffee and read to start my morning. I took my camera just in case but wasn't holding it when I looked down to find two chipmunks running around and one of them was right below my chair (I took this photo afterwards to show where I mean):

Patience paid off, though, and I was able to finally get a couple of decent shots for my wildlife photo album of the yard:

I was shooting over the dwarf crepe myrtle, hence the pink blur.

With so much excitement to see TWO regular chipmunks frequenting the yard, imagine my distress at the next time I snagged a shot of one of them:

More about that in tomorrow's blog post.