The "The Chipmunk Whisperer!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting on our back deck on an outdoor chair waiting for "chipper" to appear and take a peanut from my hand.  One of my favorite pastimes is hand-feeding the chipmunks that we have in our backyard.  I love to grab a handful of peanuts when I head to the back deck and find a comfortable position in one of our deck chairs so I can wait in comfort for my friends.  I take one of the peanuts and tap it on the metal arm of the chair as I call to them in hopes he/she will hear the noise and appear from the garden or flowerbed to take it from me and head to his hiding place along our wooden fence. They know the sound and if they are within hearing range of my taping, I can count on a familiar face in a short time.

They approach me from the side or front, wait for me to hold the peanut against the outdoor carpet, carefully remove it from my hand and take off running to hide it for future use.  I'm not quite sure how many "chippers" there might be, but they all seem to take off in the same direction along an area where the grass meets the wooden fence.  If I happen to hold a smaller sized peanut, they pack that one in their mouth along their jaw and look at me for a second one.  Always accommodate them with one more which they hold between their teeth as they hustle off.  Not once in all the years that I have been feeding them have they ever been nasty or tried to bite me.  They are considerate and gentle as they take the peanuts from my two fingers so they can examine it to see if they can pack it away and grab another before they put it in hiding.  

For the past month or so I watched them as they ran behind the fence and disappeared...returning in a minute or two after what I assumed was taking it down one of the many holes along the side of the fence.  At times I do see more than one chipmunk, but they cautiously await their turn to visit with me.  But, it seems they all head in the same direction with their reward.  Recently my wife, Carol, asked if I saw all the peanuts along the side of the fence.  I headed to the fence and there sat a pile of close to two dozen or more peanuts spilling from between two boards of the fence.  

Their peanut hole must have filled and was now overflowing!  What should I do?  I gathered the lose peanuts and took them back to my chair to be recycled during our routine feeding schedule.  I realize they more than likely have an underground  storage area which they fill for use during the cold winter months when they hibernate.  But, with too many chipmunks contributing to the same stash, they seem to have overdone it.  Now I can continue to have my fun with them without having to buy more peanuts.  Winter will be here before long and I will no longer be able to sit in my chair and enjoy myself as my outdoor friends take their turn entertaining me.  But, will Sping be not far behind and they will awaken once again?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.