Naming one’s summer camp is a tradition in the area where we live. When I’m walking along the lakeside roads I enjoy reading the camp signs and trying to figure out the stories behind them. They have names like ‘Eagle’s Nest,’ or ‘Sister’s Sanctuary.’ Lately I’ve been thinking that we should name our old farmhouse ‘Chipmunk Nation’. It has been a banner year for chipmunks and they are everywhere–in the wood pile, in the garden, behind the shed, and under the house. They’re bossy too constantly coming out from under something and complaining to us. But when they invaded the house it was time to draw the line. Luckily our cats were on the job. The first time it happened the older cat Tux nearly cornered one under the kitchen bench before it fled out beneath a space below the screen door and outside. I’m not sure who was more surprised. The second time I heard a distressed ‘cheep’ and came downstairs to find our other cat Gabby carrying a chipmunk around by his rear end. I managed to separate the chipmunk from the cat and return the him to the wild. There have been no other home invasions so far, but both cats have spent hours watching the chipmunks from the window and lurking near the door hoping for another chance. I guess it’s a cat’s version of reality TV.
Enjoy the last weeks of summer,
Jeanne Christie
