Ol’ Dutch has spent a lot of time lately up in the forests in pursuit of the elusive elk. In doing so, I have been able to see a lot of animals in their everyday activities. I love watching them as they go about their daily lives not knowing that I am hiding a few feet away from them. For about eight years, I’ve been hunting in the same makeshift blind. Early on, I would have certain chipmunks come into the fallen timber blind with me. Being an old softy, I would share my meager lunch with them. They would take a small portion and run off to store it for winter in their dens then quickly return begging for more.
This has gone on for some years now and while I know it cannot be the same chipmunks due to their short lifespan, they have evidently taught their children to come stand in line and beg as I have regular customers now. There’s probably a social lesson there but that's for another day. They remind me of Alvin and the Chipmunks. That singing trio was dreamed up way back in 1958 and had a huge run of success with Grammy awards plus a best-selling album with over 5 million copies sold of one song alone. Who can dispute that we as Americans will fall for anything that comes down the pike?
They are cute little rascals and this year I started out with some granola bars which they really seemed to like. Of course, they are sweet with honey on them, and I got concerned I was leading them to an early grave with diabetes. Therefore, I switched to almonds. And boy oh boy, do they ever like those. Fat little cheeks soon swell with sweet nuts, and they scamper to and fro taking them back for a winter larder. One morning Ol’ Dutch forgot the nuts, but I had three pieces of bread in my pocket and put that out for their arrival. And to my surprise, they turned up their noses at the brown “healthy” wheat slices. They just refused to eat them.
The look of complete and total disdain on their part toward me was funny to behold and “Alvin,” the chipmunk with the short tail, stood up on the wood wall of the blind and scolded me for a good while. Needless to say, I made sure to have a package of almonds each day since and they have resumed their many trips with cheeks stuffed full of nutty goodness. Having spent a lot of time sitting up there, I began to contemplate just how picky they have become in what they eat. It mirrors what we as humans consume, too.
They far prefer sugary treats to the healthy nuts as evidenced when I put them both out at the same time. And I think this further proves that the snack companies know that sugary treats are the key to getting our dollars. Our growing waistlines and horrific amount of snacks now stocked in every store is evidence that the snack companies are winning. It's actually quite frightening when you really look at how prevalent sugar and snacks are.
Watching Alvin and his friends scamper about the forest floor, I am reminded just how close winter is as of late. The little rascals get lost in the fallen golden aspen leaves that now cover the forest floor. Soon the snow of winter will descend with a vengeance. Unlike bears, chipmunks don’t store fat to get them through the winter. Instead, they periodically wake up to eat their stored food. These three little chipmunks will be safe and sound in their dens through the cold months, snacking on almonds and granola bars to their hearts’ content when they wake up.
I hope that I have not led them astray to needing Ozempic by spring.
Kevin Kirkpatrick spends his days fishing, hunting, ATVing, hiking or making people laugh. His email is Kevin@TroutRepublic.com. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com.
