This Guy

Afforded Becky and me a few minutes of nearly dangerous laughter yesterday. I normally pretty much wage war on chipmunks. They get in the house and do bad stuff and carry disease and all.

However, I may give this guy a pass.

I was on my way to the sink to attend to a big mess of dishes when something flashed past the window, caroming off the blue bird feeder and falling through the air, flip, flip, flip.

I could see it was a rodent of some kind, but the flipping was pretty fast for clear discernment.

Thus I lingered by the window to see what was up.

Dippy Chippy swarmed up out of the grass and quickly got up on the garden pond pump, which is lying on a tree stump drying out to be stored for winter. It consists of two long arms, one to shoot water into the air and one to suck water into the pump. It was balanced not  so securely on the center part...the pump.

Dippy ran out onto the filter. It tipped dangerously and he levitated into the air and ran back to the center...then down the air spout, which once again acted as a chippy teeter totter. Airborne once again.

He was incensed and ran over to the old bird feeder pole, which is about three feet from the tray feeder that was his goal. Next he shuddered his way through the cinnamon vine that grows on it, nothing showing but his bottle brush tail.

See, I had found some old almonds in the cupboard and put them out there to see if the jays wanted them (nope). The chipmunk wanted them though. He sat in the catbird feeder on top of the pole and wiggled his fanny like a cat about to pounce on one of his brethren.

Nope, too far.

He vibrated his tail like pom pom at a football game, bouncing up and down to ready himself for the jump.

Nope, too far. 

Back down through the vine, tail a-quiver, to the oak stump again.

There he sat, eyeing the feeder and swaying back and forth as he contemplated the jump.

Nope, too far. You could all but see him deflate in disappointment.

Sigh....so close and yet so far.....

Then he did what any normal chipper would have done in the first place. He ran up the honey locust tree and onto the clothesline and out to the feeder. Of course there was a certain "first day on the new feet" air about his line running skills.....A Flying Wallenda he ain't.

Once in the feeder he was rewarded with a lovely, if a couple of year's worth of stale, almond. 

It was too big for his mouth. 

He turned it over and over until he figured out a way around it.

He sat there for a while nibbling the shell until he had a hand....er....tooth hold...and then contemplated egress from the feeder.

Looked at the old pole with the cinnamon vine.

Nope, too far.

Looked at the tree.

Nope too far, with only that scary old clothes rope to run on. 

Looked at the blue bird feeder hanging over the oak stump.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Wham.

He caromed off the blue feeder again and down he went to the stump...

Flip

Flip

Flip

If there is a Darwin Award for chipmunks I have an inside tip on this year's winner