Summer Days Shorten

The bad news is that just about all the chipmunks have disappeared, even Rose, whose willingness to jump into my lap and whose fussiness meant that several peanuts simply wouldn't pass muster, no longer perches on my knee. I miss her.

Only one chipmunk seems to make very brief appearances. I don't know who it is, and that's the way it seems to want our relationship to remain. In short, either the chipmunks have gotten more wild, hide far more often, or have dispersed. They are loners by nature, so it's possible there were simply too many for comfort in a relatively small piece of real estate.

If there's any good news, the bluejay population, in all its raucous behavior and sounds, has ballooned, along with that of the grey squirrels. I enjoy the bluejays. Though somewhat abrasive to the ears, they are a beautiful and intelligent bird.

And they're fun to watch . . . but not as fun as the chipmunks.

Whatever happened to Rose, and Chip-Chip, and Chipper, and the 3 youngsters,

I will miss them all.

A Possible Answer as to Why the Chipmunks have become Scarce

Here is my current working theory, based on the assumption that a population explosion of critters leads to a corrective population reduction response by other critters: In other words, just as the squirrels have stalked the chipmunks for their peanuts, and just as the chipmunks have stalked me--to see what I'm watching on TV--and just as just about everything is stalking the 13-lined ground squirrels and the plethora of bunnies, the stray cat population--now up to two--has begun stalking any of the critters unfortunate enough to get caught unwary.

I chase them away, but sometimes too late, when they already have a critter casualty in their bloodthirsty mouths.

Which leads to this small request on my part: KEEP YOUR DAMN CATS IN YOUR OWN DAMN YARD!!!! (See previous posts about how much damage cats can wreak on wildlife.)

Thank you.

It's 9:55 pm. Do you know where your cat is? YOU DAMN WELL BETTER!

Mid-Summer Mystery

All's quiet on the chipmunk manor. Chip-Chip has not been taking his food, either on the front step or in the garage. Chipper has been absent now for weeks. And Rose has not made an appearance since shortly after the Fourth of July. Junior, Scooter, and June are nowhere to be seen. What's going on?

On the more hopeful side, the red squirrel still makes an occasional appearance, the grey squirrels are getting friendier, now coming up to the deck to beg for food, the gopher population is taking a hit from the neighborhood cat, the red headed woodpecker is now a regular visitor at the feeder, and the blue jays return to the juniper tree daily to beg for peanuts.

Still, what happened to the chipmunks? Just weeks ago there were five or six.

Has tragedy visited the chipmunks?