My First Winter

It's not hard to tell it's this lil juvenile's first winter, and maybe a little more practice on his landing skills is needed in the snow, but he "got the peanut"!!

Eastern Chipmunk

I LOVE peanuts....I really DO!!

One chipmunk can gather up to 165 nuts in one day.

I found his hiding place!!

Actually, this looked to be this little one's home for the winter.  It was a very deep burrow, where he was storing his food.  Chipmunks will spend most of the winter months underground.  They do not hibernate, but go into a deep sleep and wake only to eat every few days.  In spring, they may have to dig through a few feet of snow to get out.

Chipmunks have pouches inside of their cheeks.

They can store lots of food when foraging.

Chipmunks are very active in the daytime during spring, summer and fall. Besides peanuts, they love to eat berries, corn, mushrooms, insects, and plant roots

Did you know that Chipmunks have four toes on the

front feet and five toes on the back feet?

Back to the burrow .... (his cheeks are full)

Anything For a Nut

There was a little bit of snow and ice on the deck so I decided to have some fun with the squirrels.  I hid a few peanuts in the tunnel and didn't have to wait long for mr. squirrel to show up.  Did you see what he was up to last week?