Hey...Is That Alvin?

The other day I was cleaning up around the outside of our church, when I saw the end of a tail of a kritter slip under the cover of an old wooden pallet. I wasnt sure what it was, so I just froze for a moment to see if it would show itself again. In a few moments the little fellers curiosity got the better of him and he peeked outand then pretty soon he came out and sat on top of the pallet.

To my delight, it was a cute little chipmunk who had decided to make his home near our church. As I watched him I talked softly to him and said dont be afraid little fellerI wont hurt you. And to my surprise, instead of running away, he calmly stayed right there quite near to me. He was also watching me, as if he were saying to me Dont be afraidI wont hurt you. It was the beginning of a friendship.

My hope is that the little feller will stay with us for a while. Chipmunks are lively little kritters and are smaller members of the squirrel family. Their fat pudgy cheeks, big glossy eyes, stripes and bushy tails have made favorites with cartoonists as weve seen in Disney Classics and the recent Chipmunk movies.

There is only one species of Chipmunk overseas. We can find them scurrying through the underbrush of everything from pine forests to scrubby deserts. Some make their homes in burrows with elaborate tunnels and chambers and others make their homes in fallen trees and logs. Chipmunks are even smaller than Wisconsins red (pine) squirrels. In the wild they h ...