Creature Feature – Going Nuts

Common folklore tells us, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” and in between, it’s anyone’s guess.  My mother, who turns 96 on the 24th, calls March “the crazy month,” because its weather is nuttier than a fruitcake.  

Speaking of nuts… have you seen a chipmunk yet this year?  It’s a sure harbinger of spring when the first chippy pops out of its winter burrow, scampers across the yard, and makes a beeline for the bird feeder.  A chipmunk’s expandable cheek pouches can hold a lot of seeds and nuts, which are transported to an underground larder.  Observers have documented one chipmunk stuffing its face with 12 acorns; another with 31 corn kernels; and yet another striped bandit crammed 70 sunflower seeds into its chonky cheeks!  

Also this month, female gray squirrels are busy preparing nurseries for their first litter of the year. I’m in a battle of wills with one such furry mother-to-be that covets the cozy space beneath a central AC unit mounted on our deck. Were this a reasonable place to nest, I’d let her have at it; but she’s stuffing leaves and twigs into the unit’s housing where they pose a potential fire risk and will interfere with the fan mechanism. Even as I write this, I can hear her wedging more sticks in place — so back out I’ll go to remove them yet again and try a new strategy of discouragement. Meanwhile, that squirrel is driving me NUTS!

Article & photo by Margie Manthey