Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Chippy


Here is the story of Chippy, full name: Chippydoodle.  Our tame chipmunk at Little Red House.

It all started several years ago.  My husband and I were sitting on the deck, reading the Sunday papers and munching on some roasted almonds, when suddenly a chipmunk appeared at our feet.  We were surprised to see the little fellow, and my husband tossed him an almond.  Thus began our acquaintance with Chippydoodle.

He sat and nibbled on the almond for a short while, then tucked the remainder in his cheek and scuttled off.  Soon he was back for more.  Over the course of the afternoon, he probably garnered enough nuts to take him through the winter.  But that was not the end of it.

Every time we sat on the deck, Chippy would visit us.  Soon, we were buying cans of roasted almonds just for him.  He had a very eclectic taste -- plain, honey roasted, spicy cajun -- they were all the same to old Chippydoodle.  He would sit on his little haunches and, holding the nut in his tiny paws, quickly lick all the salt and flavoring off.  Then, he would nibble the edges a little.  Finally, he would tuck the almond in his fat little cheeks and scamper off.

I became the prime dispenser of nuts.  Chippy would take an almond from my fingers, stick it in his little cheeks, and look up with bright eyes, waiting for another one.  When I had given him three or four nuts, he would dart quickly away, his cheeks bulging with booty.  I loved handing him a nut, and watching his clever little fingers grasping the prize.

We have not had any visits from Chippy this year, which leads me to believe that he may have gone on to that Big Nuthouse in the Sky.  But we have been adopted by the little fellow you see in the picture above.  He is much more shy than our dear Chippy, and has not learned to beg for almonds yet, but hope springs eternal.  Maybe by the end of the summer, I'll have him eating out of my hand.

I'll let you know.

26 comments:

  1. Maybe Chippy got married and move out of town! Isn't it fun to watch the wildlife around your home? We have a resident squirrel who has gotten up the nerve to sit on the fencepost a few feet away from us and take his daily bath. He's very thorough and doesn't seem to mind that we are watching his routine. ~Adrienne~

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  2. What a cute story. We had a squirrel for a good two years who we fed nuts to. He would appear at the front door looking for his loot. The dogs would go crazy, but that didn't stop "Jimmy". That's what we called him. He didn't show up last year so we assume the same for him.

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  3. Maybe Chippy got a promotion, and now he has a desk job. He certainly could have charmed his way into anything.

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  4. Loved to hear of the Chippy Adventure .... I will choose to think that because he was so well feed, he had so many children he didn't know what to do! So, he decided to move to Florida to a retirement home and Chippy, Jr is now learning the ropes!

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  5. I'm with Rosie...he has simply retired. That is a wonderful story! I know Chip, Jr. will learn the ropes in no time.

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  6. We are on the same wave length today Mary...I just did a post about some wildlife at our house! I love seeing chipmunks and how sweet that he took the nuts right from you! I bet it wont be long before the new one is learning the routine.

    annie

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  7. Oh I love this! We have always had "pet" chipmunks some becoming so tame that they allowed me to kiss them...oh yes, I can prove it. Ha!

    Peanuts in the shell...unsalted...are very good for Chippy's overwintering.

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  8. The Big Nuthouse in the Sky? Oh, that made me LAUGH! I grew up in Florida and never seen a chipmunk until we were camping in NY one summer. I'm still fascinated by them!

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  9. Oh I hope Chippy hasn't met his end. Maybe he's just late in coming back from wintering in Florida. My grandfather had a pet crow. We won't get anything making friends with us on our deck because the Chihuahua's will scare the heck out of anything that even enters the county much less our deck.

    Lovely story Mary.

    - Suzanne

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  10. All we have is a cat who considers our yard to be his litterbox, so I am hesitant to feed him anything.

    But I love the name Chippydoodle. And I just think he has chosen to summer in the Hamptons this year.

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  11. cute story, Mary..thanks for sharing and I am pretty sure this little one is an offspring from Chippy and will take up where his old man left off !!
    hugs, bj

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  12. Do you think Chippy could have made it all the way to North Carolina? I had a black snake chasing a chipmunk across my backyard last week. Thankfully the chipmunk outran that slimy bugger.

    Cute story ~ especially how Chippydoodle licked the salt off the almonds.

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  13. Maybe Chippy found a Mrs. Chippy and they ran off and eloped! Love the name Chippydoodle! LOL.

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  14. I think he's joined the circus.

    Sorry, but I'm reading Water for Elephants right now and I have circus on my brain.

    Cute post, Mary! (I'm sneaking out to visit my fave blogs while at work. Don't tell.)

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  15. Cute story. I have a really good friend that has a blue jay that lives in her yard and they almost have it eating shelled peanuts out of their hands. Nature is so amazing isn't it. It's so fun to be able to get closer to a part of it.

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  16. Cute little friend. I am sure it won't be long before he is munching on almonds. have a great one, Janie

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  17. Mary, what a wonderful story! I'm with the rest, hoping that Chippy is just letting the youngster do the gathering this year!

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a nice comment! I am glad to meet you and read your great blog. I'll be stopping by often!

    Chris

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  18. Oh Mary! What a cute story. I LOVE chipmunks. I see one every once in awhile in my yard, but they go so fast. I wish one would come up on my deck for a visit. How cute that he ate the nuts right out of your hand. thanks for sharing that story!

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  19. The story of chippy is adorable. Yesterday we had a baby grey squirrel fall out of a nest way high in a huge maple tree. There was no way of getting him back up there. We placed him on the ground hoping that mama would come and get him. She hopped in a nearby hemlock tree but she must have had a run in with our almighty hunter cat, Top gun, before. She wouldn't get on the ground Finally my husband placed him as high as he could reach and mama eventually came down, grabbed him and stopping to rest every few feet pulled him back to the nest. We were so happy that he was safe and sound.

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  20. Cute story, but the part about the big nuthouse in the sky made me laugh out loud...

    Oh Mary thanks for the laugh...

    I hope Chippy shows up..

    Kathy :)

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  21. Mary,

    What a fabulous post! I thoroughly enjoyed it! You'd never know, Chippy might be taking a trip around the world... :)

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  22. This post is so touching~~very Beatrix Potterish. I always dream about having our own little "pets" come up on the deck and let us feed them. . .they are all so shy, though. What a wonderful encounter with them you had. I hope this little guy learns he can trust you!

    Michelle

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  23. Hi Mary,

    What a sweet story. I hope that the new visitor becomes just as comfy! I am with Rosie, I'd like to think Chippy is off relaxing and doing well. Perhaps even managing a little almond business with all that booty :)

    Hugs,
    Dena

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  24. That is such a sweet story :)

    I wish I had a chippy!

    Hugs,
    rue

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  25. Oh, Mary - how sweet! Well, we have about ten Chip(s) running around our yard and I write about them and photograph them (ad nauseam) on my blog! Feel free to stop by and visit my Chip(s) any time you'd like. And just like your old Chip, ours eat right out of our hands, climb into our laps, and come running to me from all directions when I come out to the garden in the morning (they know my pockets are filled with peanuts!)LOL They are just the sweetest little things, aren't they?...Donna

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  26. Awww, I love this story, Mary. Hope you get little Chippy trained as well.

    Rhoda

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. I love to hear what you have to say!