The Care and Feeding of the Cottage Chipmunk

 This summer, there seems to be no shortage of chipmunks!  Every cottage has at least one.  The chicken coop has several. 








Many of them are tame enough to come right to your hand for a treat of seeds and peanuts.  That is always a thrill for the kids -- the chance to be so close to a wild creature, and one that is as cute as, well, as cute as a chipmunk!   And it seems that all of them have names.  Chippy, Albert, Pecan 1 and Pecan 2, Gerard, Robespierre, Phaneuf... and Chester, to introduce just a few.










The care and feeding of your cottage chipmunk, however, is a serious matter.  So serious that when 8 year old Alice had to leave last weekend, she left a note to the new arriving guests on just how to look after her beloved cottage Munk.

"Dear next owners of Springside cottage.  I would like it a lot if you would feed the local chipmunk, Chester (do not call him anything else!) He likes to eat almonds, granola and assorted nuts. Do not feed him Goldfish crackers, or cheerios. Thank you, from Alice Bartlett."

She included a map -- "follow map to hole" in case anyone wondered where Chester lived when he wasn't on the picnic table stocking up on almonds...