Meet Boop

Chipmunks have shown up in our neighbourhood this summer.  We know that there is at least three of them.  Some may be thinking, "ya, what's the big deal?"  Around here, chipmunks appear every few years and sometimes they aren't a long staying guest.  Some just disappear while others have been found dead in neighbours' backyards.  I suspect the free roaming cats are the main reason.

So, in the last decade, this is probably the third summer that we have had chipmunks.  The thing that is really cool about it this time, to us anyway, is that one of them has made his home at the back of our yard.  We get to see a lot of him.  What's not to love about having a chipmunk?  They are cute and fun to watch.  The squirrels are always chasing them when they have food, trying to steal it.  Seeing how fast and agile a chipmunk can be, dodging other squirrels, running around and even under the pigeons is a new source of entertainment to our "backyard nature channel".  Merry and Molly get quite excited at the sight of these little creatures too and will sit in the window or at the back door for lengthy amounts of time, just watching.  We really have to be careful when going in and out of the house to make sure neither suddenly darts out the door to chase one.

Angie has named him Boop.  She names most of the backyard critters.  Why Boop?  Well, she booped him on the nose the other weekend and...  there you go!  It isn't something neither of us make a habit of doing, it was just something in the moment and that was it.  Chipmunks can become tolerant and accepting of human presence but I wouldn't call them tame; they are wild animals.  Yes, in the last couple weeks we have had some up close and personal encounters with this little one as he has quickly figured out we are an easy food source.  His meals have changed from peanuts, which isn't the best choice to offer them because of how fatty they are, to now getting almonds and other nuts will be offered after I make a trip up to Johnvince near Downsview Park.  Johnvince has a great variety of nuts to buy and at a great price compared to the grocery stores.

Boop enjoying almonds at the little decorative picnic table my coworker picked up for me last summer.  I love the personalized touch with our last name.

Our property is over 170' deep and most of it is the backyard.  Boop has made his home down near the shed, probably 70' from our deck.  It was hidden in a small patch of grass and we spotted it when one of us hid down by the shed, watching him go to it after leaving our deck with a mouthful of food.  We knew he was very close to us and were curious how close.  Unfortunately a few days later some animal, I think a squirrel, discovered Boop's "home" and tried to dig down into where his stash is.  I do think it was a squirrel because a skunk or raccoon would have done a lot more damage to the entry than what I saw.  Like other creatures that have come to stay with us, I did what I could to help Boop and protect his home.  We have quite a few large rocks down back and I circled the hole with some.  So far nothing else has tried to get down there.  Let's hope it stays this way.  And if you were wondering, the new addition did not bother Boop at all.

In he goes!

How about a little game of caption this with the next photo?  It's kinda like "Nyah nyah, I have a castle!"

I started this blog on August 2nd.  Now it is August 31st.  Where does the time go?  A few days in the last number of weeks I was telling myself to finish this blog but there's always something going on it seems.  *sigh*  As I key this, Boop is still with us.  We don't see him nearly as much during the work week since we have jobs and everything else that is a part of our daily lives; but come the weekend, it is backyard time and Boop finds us (or we find him).  

He gets spoiled rotten on the weekends with loads of almonds and peanuts, sometimes a bit of sunflower.  It's a buffet and we let him have his choice.  He has to search a lot for food during the work week when we aren't around nearly as much, gathering more natural stuff from the backyards.

Boop is a welcomed distraction on the weekends after a hard week of work and stress.  It's funny how such a tiny little creature can help with our demeanor.

Most will agree that it's lovely to have a few chipmunks around their properties.  I hope you are one them.  Have a great day!