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December 15, 2005 - A chipmunk ChristmasSuffolk Times • December 15, 2005 Chl*[Dmunk ristma HRISTMAS IN THE pine bar- rens was going to be espe- cially interesting for us this year since we were invited ON Little Chip was the smallest member of the family, and yet he saved the day by finding a new supply of winter food. Even though he had to expose himself to the red - tailed hawk that circled above or the wild cat that lurked in the bushes or the speeding cars that could have hit him as he crossed the road, all these dangers didn't stop him from looking for much - needed food for the family. Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh It was in that big living room that the chip- munk family, I'vf been told, sleeps away the cold winter months, all curled up in a bed of dried leaves and grass- es. I think they FOCUS to visit with a chipmunk family that lived there. It all started N N QT U R E in the chipmunk's underground living room. You know, most chipmunks live b by Paul safety of their tun- S Stoutenburgh and run to 30 feet in length Little Chip was the smallest member of the family, and yet he saved the day by finding a new supply of winter food. Even though he had to expose himself to the red - tailed hawk that circled above or the wild cat that lurked in the bushes or the speeding cars that could have hit him as he crossed the road, all these dangers didn't stop him from looking for much - needed food for the family. Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh It was in that big living room that the chip- munk family, I'vf been told, sleeps away the cold winter months, all curled up in a bed of dried leaves and grass- es. I think they call it hibernation. If the wintery w er warms up a bit, they might wake up and take a short walk outside, then return to the safety of their tunnel. Of course, I'm sure they had a quick snact of dried berries and nuts before they curled up. again. We followed them in through the main entrance, which was well hid- den amongst the leaves and rocks and fallen branches. Along the tunnel wall there were quite a few openings that acted as lookouts and entrances should the chipmunks have to hide in a hurry. You might ask, "How can chipmunks dig such elaborate tunnels without showing the dirt that was removed, when Mr. Woodchuck, who also lives in the pine barrens, digs his den and leaves a pile of dirt at the entrance?" We were told the answer is quite simple. Chipmunks remove the dirt by put- ting it in their pouches, which are like our cheeks but much bigger. The dirt is then carried away from the entrance, leaving no trace of where it came from. Chipmunks have to watch out for predators. You know the kind I mean: hawks, fox, people with guns and, worst of all, the threat of wild cats that roam in the woods. Before we went any further, we were introduced to the chipmunk family. The oldest and wisest of all the chip- munks was the father, who was called Top Chip. Then there was his wife, Mom Chip, who always kept an eye on the two kids, called Big Chip and Little Chip, who were always getting into trouble and doing foolish things. As I said, this family of chipmunks lived in the pine barrens, where they always thought they were safe and se- cure. Then one day there was this awful noise and clamoring going on just a little way from their burrow. Tivo huge bulldozers came in. One was uproot- ing all the trees. They were the kind of trees the chipmunks were counting on for the nuts and seeds the trees produced. The other bulldozer-ripped out all the bushes and undergrowth, much of which the chipmunks relied on for food. Top Chip, the father, who was responsible for the whole family, became very worried for he knew that if one house was built, others would purely follow. And sure enough, just as he pre- dicted, another house was going up. Where once there was a wild and beautiful pine barrens, with crystal -. clear, unpolluted water beneath, now all was changed to a whole new world of blacktop roads and driveways, mani- cured green lawns, all landscaped with bushes and trees that were strange and unfamiliar to the chipmunks. Ev- erything was destroyed. Where were all the chipmunks and other animals that lived in the pine barrens going to find the food that would get them through the winter? It was terrible. Everything was gone. "How can we make it through the winter ?" sobbed Mom Chip, as a big tear rolled down her cheek. There would be hard times ahead for all the creatures of the pine barren New roads were being put through; it seemed everything was being cleared out for development. The chipmunks' carefree life was fast slipping away. TO] Chip called everyone together and tolc them it would be their responsibility to do what they could to find any kind of life- giving food that would get them through the winter. Here's where, believe it or not, Little Chip, the The chip youngest member of carefree the family, really came through with flying col- fast slip ors. Not too crazy about work, he was always looking for the easy way out. He sat down, shut his eyes and started to think. Maybe, just maybe, there might be something over there in one of those big new houses that they could eat, but that was going to be kind of risky what with all that open land and those new, blacktop roads to cross, and no tunnels to hide in if one of those bad guys were after him. He'd have to do it anyway. He looked all around — nothing in sight — then with one quick dash he got over to the big house. Oh, my, how big it was! He went to the back door. It was closed tight. He tried the front door, which was even bigger than the back door, and it was closed. It looked hopeless. His last hope was the garage door, but that, too, was shut. How could he get into that house to see if they had any eats around? Then he remembered all chipmunks have super -sharp teeth, especially the front ones, which are used for gnaw- ing tough nuts and roots. This would munk life ping a be the place to really test his teeth out. The garage door looked like a metal door, but when he tapped it, it sounded different. This was something entirely new to him. There was a label on it saying "Fiberglas." He didn't know what that meant. "Well, there's always a first time, so. here goes." He bit it. Not very good tasting, but it was softer than metal, which let him gnaw out a nice round hole in the corner of the door. He slipped in and was amazed to see how big the garage was. There were bicycles, rakes and shovels, lawn mowers, boxes and cans of all kinds and shapes. "Not much here to eat," he said to himself Then he had the good luck of spotting a big paper bag over in the corner. "What could be in that ?" Little s' Chip thought to himself. Was "Let's take a look." He scurried over and Way found that the top was open, so he jumped in and went up to his belly in some kind of black seeds. He thought he'd taste one. It was delicious and yummy. "This would be just great for our winter food supply. Maybe these people aren't so bad after all." So he filled his cheek pouches, which are sometimes called "shop- ping bags" because they can hold so much. He might just be able to cram 70 sunflower seeds at one time into his pouches. He was so laden down with sunflower seeds he could hardly get out of the bag. He slid down the side to make sure he got his bearings straight. As he was leaving, he noticed the bag had writing on it: "Wild bird seed." "So that's what this seed is for he thought. "That's pretty cool of them to feed the birds." He wondered if the people in the big house knew they were going to be feeding a family of chipmunks, too, as, smiling to him- self, he headed home to tell the family of his eood fortune.