A New Enemy... Chipmunks!

When we lived in Michigan, we had the biggest, most fearless squirrels I had ever seen. These squirrels were funny, and I even left seeds out for them. Without the right attitude, however, they could have been seen as vicious monsters, especially around Halloween season when they would demolish a pumpkin in a matter of hours.

Upon moving to our house here in Illinois, I was excited to see that the few squirrels we have tend to stay in the back of the yard by the tall trees. In fact, I only see them two or three times a week. However, I have some new friends - chipmunks.

When I first discovered the chipmunks that live around our house, I thought that they were so little and cute. And yes, they are still super cute. However, they have now given me two reasons to glare at them - mulch and birdseed.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we spent a lot of time working out in the yard, planting plants and spreading mulch. The day after my dad came for his work day, I discovered this...
... a GIANT hole dug up in my mulch. AND it wasn't alone! Those darn chipmunks are so excited about the new mulch that they keep digging tunnels in it. We are now in a battle of epic proportions as they dig tunnels and I go out daily and spread the mulch back over the holes. Grrr....

A new point of indignation arose earlier this week as the chipmunks started getting greedy with the seed in my new birdfeeder. Last week, they were content to be cute gathering up the seeds on the ground. However, this is now a regular sight at my home...
...yes, that is a chipmunk perched on the base of my birdfeeder. The little stinkers can climb the metal pole, they climb into the impatients, and then they jump over to the birdfeeder. I have decided that I am just going to have to accept their greediness on this count because I can't spend my entire day yelling at them out my back door. I guess I should just be thankful that we have a variety of wildlife including ducks, chipmunks, squirrels, bunnies, and all kinds of birds. :)