Be careful what you wish for!
There's a population explosion going on here.
We had just one chipmunk for years.
We named him/her Chippy and always enjoyed seeing that cute as
a button creature emerge from hibernation each spring.
Chippy must have found a mate somewhere underground this past winter!
We now have several scooting about the garden, coming up on the
front porch to drink from the fountain, gorging and filling their pudgy cheek
pouches with fallen birdseed, and digging in some of my potted
plants. That's definitely a no-no!
But it's not just our garden riddled with chipmunks, neighbors near and
far in our area seem to be experiencing a gigantic explosion of cute
chipmunks in their gardens this spring. There have even been news
articles about them showing up in eastern North Carolina toward
the coast, a place they never called home before!
and are a real nuisance when it comes to eating the birdseed, or anything
else they can get their greedy little paws on, and the smaller chipmunk.
Yes, adorable, cute. . . . . . . and now also becoming a nuisance by
causing holes all over the lawn and garden.
A few days ago I actually caught this chipmunk - perhaps Chippy or
an offspring - in the pot of heliotrope, rolling around in the soil
making a real mess and causing the plant to go sideways.
I chased it off and had to repot the plant deeper.
Any new creatures sighted on your garden this spring?
Many neighbors are finding cute 'Bambi' fawns, often twins,
tucked away for safety in their back gardens. Mama deer
leaves them while she does other things but always comes back
for them later.
Early in the week the most unexpected visitor seen in our
neighborhood was a fairly large black bear! Several people were
able to catch it on video running through their yards, crossing a street,
and one woman filmed it climbing over her fence. It was last spotted
heading toward a shopping center - wildlife officers are tracking it.
We all hope it's not a mama bear who has been scared off and
left babies somewhere!
These lovely animals are losing their natural habitats in this area
due to the tearing down of older homes and clearing of wooded
spaces for the construction of larger than life million dollar plus
houses, apartments, office buildings etc.
With Google, Apple, Amazon etc. set to move into the area and
the population growing by leaps and bounds, we will see more
changes in the months and years to come.
Called 'progress' but really more like destruction. Very sad!
On a happier note - the Carolina wren and Black-capped chickadee
enjoying the seed wreath hanging on the front porch. We just bought two
more of these wreaths as the small birds are really loving them.
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