Chippies

I never thought I'd say this, but I am SO FREAKING SICK of chipmunks.

I used to think they were adorable and harmless. How could anything that cute cause any trouble?

Well, I've been converted. We have a veritable chipmunk colony thriving in our yard. They climb up in the trees and incessantly chirp at the top of their squeaky little voices. They have created their own Meerkat Manor of tunnels throughout our yard and garden. They dig up seeds before they have a chance to sprout, and those few fortunate seeds that do sprout suffer the fate of being nibbled to death before they get their second set of leaves.

Walking down the sidewalk yesterday, I scattered a group of 4 or 5 chippies. They're always darting out from under bushes and scaring the life out of me.

I sat on the front swing and watched this little guy dozing in the crook of a tree.
His eyes never actually closed, but they were narrowed to slits.
After about fifteen minutes, he started to rouse himself, scratch and preen.

Then it was back down to the ground ...

... and back to no good. Hmmm, what can I dig up now?

Oh, the reason that I was sitting on the swing this afternoon is because we saw a young copperhead slither under the leaves of the plant pictured above. I was sitting with a shovel at the ready, waiting to crush its head if it made another appearance. Copperheads in the yard. What next?