Chipmunk

All posts tagged Chipmunk

Wandering in the Autumn Forest with Beautiful Beings

Posted by Lee Hiller on December 1, 2018
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Wandering is Soul serenity.  Talk to the trees and they will reveal the beautiful beings and the tiny details lost in the great expanse.  I always thank them for allowing me into their home and ask that they might show me what often goes unseen.

Happy hiking and Love to ALL!
Lee

 

Chipmunk Rock Outcrop Habitat

Posted by Lee Hiller on June 26, 2018
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Mostly I see chipmunks scurrying on fallen trees, popping out of fallen leaves and sitting on twigs or small rocks.  Recently I heard a noise above me in a small tree growing from a tall rock outcrop.  I expected to see a bird or maybe a squirrel but not a chipmunk.  Atop the rock the chipmunk had created a home.  On close inspection what looked like random debris on the rock surface was a carefully built structure.  A moss. leaf, fern, mud hut for the chipmunk with an easily overlooked entrance.  The small trees growing from the rock had berries which the chipmunk was climbing to retrieve and then sit and eat.  When I say sit I mean like a human might on a chair.  This was a place I had passed on hundred plus occasions and on this day its secrets were revealed.

I love my classroom.  Nature always has something new to show me.

Love to ALL!
Lee

Little details along the trail edges

Posted by Lee Hiller on May 29, 2018
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It is hard no to get excited by long trail shots and the canopy created by spring leaves.  I stand in awe of them before each hike.  The tiny details along the trail edges are the delicate brush stroke on Nature’s canvas. They are a delightful and every changing reminder of the fragile ecosystem we share.

Love to ALL!
Lee

Spring is the poetry that need not be spoken

Posted by Lee Hiller on April 8, 2018
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Spring is the poetry that need not be spoken. ~ Lee Hiller

Love to ALL!
Lee

Eastern Chipmunk aka A Tiny Forest Predator

Posted by Lee Hiller on April 6, 2018
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Most of my photography of chipmunks involve foraging and emerging from burrows.  Gathering acorns or munching on seeds I have marveled at their beauty.

I was enjoying at all the lovely spring birds in the new spring canopy when I noticed my husband had stopped up the trail.  He was looking down, standing still and taking photos.  I moved slowly up the trail to his side and he pointed out a chipmunk on a downed limb.  It was sniffing the log and then picked up what I though was a nut. It wasn’t until I began editing my photos the truth was revealed.

The nut was actually a snail. I had capture the chipmunk breaking the shell and sucking out its inhabitant.  Research revealed ” Most of the eastern chipmunk’s diet is made up of  nuts, acorns, seeds, mushrooms, fruits, berries and corn. It also eats insects, bird eggs, snails and small mammals like young mice.” http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/chipmunk.htm  The sweet little forest dweller was a actually a capable predator.  I went back through 9 years of chipmunk photos and discovered these were the first

Love to ALL!
Lee