There were a few more signs of spring today with the temperature finally reaching the normal high so some snow was melting, even if my lawn is still white, but my pond was starting to fill up with the runoff. And I heard the first killdeer today so another summer bird returned but a sure hint of spring returning is that the chipmunks have emerged from their winter nap and they were checking out my porch for any flower pots to dig up even if there was none at the moment.

The Return of the Chipmunks

I saw a little brown furry thing scampering through the woods this morning and I thought maybe it had finally warmed up enough for the chipmunks to emerge from their winter nap but it was a little red squirrel instead. And with more snow coming, my pesky little rodents may stay hidden in their burrows underground for a few more weeks.

No Chipmunk Yet

My little “buddies”, who like to dig up my flowers and garden plants, will need to hide in their massive maze of tunnels which chipmunks build so they can stay warm if it gets down to freezing tonight.

Chipmunk Needs to Hide

The chipmunks have finally stopped digging into all my flower and garden pots, probably since the flowers look pretty ragged from the season and constant uprooting from my little furry monsters, but they are finding other ways to cause trouble like sneaking into my garage. It is much nicer to see them in the woods than in my house.

Troublesome Chipmunk

While chipmunks might be cute, like this one perched on the rock, they dug out my poor flowers and buried one with its blossoms down in the hole with its roots up in the air. They also managed to dig up my newly planted seeds in less then 48 hours. They have the whole yard and woods to dig up but they seem to like my pots on the porch better.

Troublesome Chipmunk

It is a bad sign when these not so cute chipmunks have a beaten path to places they shouldn’t be, like my garden and flower pots. This guy has his cheeks full but I just don’t know if it is my bird seed or raspberries but they are busy storing food for the winter months.

Busy Chipmunk

The chipmunks seem to rule the roost around my place, eating all my raspberries, unearthing my flowers, digging my garden seeds out before they have a chance to grow and apparently they can outwit cats too. A chipmunk kept charging out to the stray cat instead of just hiding in the woods (as seen in the video below) and it eventually got away when the cat left. The next night my Trouble caught one but it got away too and within a few minutes, he had his cheeks stuff full of my produce and chirping away on its perch.

Crafty Chipmunk

Curious Cat vs. Crafty Chipmunk

(Sorry for the shaky video but I was photographing a sunset and didn’t have a tripod with me when I came across this scene.)