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Buddies

It's been a while since my last post. I thought today would be a good day to update my imaginary readers. ;-)

My groundhogs haven't been as visible this summer as in past summers. We have two this year who have stuck around, popping up from their holes to grab the peanuts and carrots we place nearby. However they aren't too keen on visiting. They prefer to take their treats back inside and all we can hear is crunching from underground. When the crunching stops, we wait a minute until the nose, ears and eyes appear level with the hole to scope out the scene. Pop up, grab, hunker down, crunch crunch crunch. This has been the entertainment for the most part. However... I did manage to get a couple of pictures of one the other day who enjoyed his peanuts alfresco:

We have a new buddy this summer who love peanuts just as much - if not more - than the groundhogs. And this little guy is not shy at all. Meet Buddy:

This is our resident chipmunk who has taken a liking to the groundhogs' territory. He is adorable and amazing to watch, scurrying around stuffing peanuts in his cheeks. I never completely understood the term "chipmunk cheeks" until I saw it for myself. He can wad 4-5 peanuts in his cheeks. He hit pay dirt one day when my husband was outside picking blueberries, ready with a container full of peanuts should a groundhog appear. Well, the chipmunk found it... in fact, the above photo was taken as he eyed the container... and he had a plan for each and every nut.

One cheek full, one more to go.

Today my husband actually watched a neighborhood cat dash out of nowhere and scoop Buddy into his jaws and run off. We were sick about it. But you will never believe it: Buddy reappeared about an hour afterwards! I was never so happy to see this little guy as I was today. :) Now we know to be vigilant about keeping cats out of our yard.

Cats like birds too. Good thing they are no match for turkeys, because we have a bunch who parade around the neighborhood and make our front lawn a regular stop. Yes, they know they can count on getting bread from us. They are quite the crew, very protective of one another. I enjoy feeding them even though i suppose I shouldn't. But who could resist?