Chocolate Chippy

When we visited the little house in the city last weekend Chippy, the resident chipmunk, had staked his claim on the interior of the building. He clearly resented our presence and sought to exploit our food supply. He claimed the potted plan, given to us by Lares, as his very own burial ground for unknown objects of interest. He pooped and peed all over the counters and in the cupboards. When we closed the door to the basement, and were outside for ten minutes, he chewed and stripped the veneer off the bottom of the door in his attempt to gain entrance to our kitchen and the rest of the house. He boldly sat and stared at me as I sat reading, and at Attila and I as we sat at the table eating.

In desperation, last Sunday, I visited the local Home Hardware store and purchased a live trap, made specifically for chipmunks, rats and squirrels. Quite an expense for us, I must say. I did consider a large rat trap that would have killed Chippy, at a tenth of the price, but considered a clear conscience and peace of mind worth the expense.

We set the trap in the kitchen, baited with bread and peanut butter. Chippy did not go near the trap before we left for our trip back to the country house.

We asked Terra and Lares to check the trap for us, worried that we would capture Chippy and he would left there for weeks until our return. Obviously he would not survive such a wait.

We need not have worried.

After we had gone, Chippy grabbed the food and tripped the trap door. But he was not in the cage! He must have grabbed the food from outside the cage, or he managed to nip out before the cage door came down. We do not know.

Terra and Lares took up the cause with enthusiasm!

They went to the little house to investigate the trap, only to have Chippy lunge at them as they entered and then scurry past them to hide under the refrigerator. He is so bold that when Terra threw a chocolate chip at him, he stopped running, turned around, grabbed the chocolate chip and then ran into the basement with it.

Thus, Terra discovered that Chippy has a weakness for chocolate chips. They bated the trap with a chocolate chip on the trip mechanism. However, having discovered just how bold Chippy has become, they put another chocolate chip beyond the mechanism, figuring Chippy would be cocky enough to risk the time to grab it as well.

Greed and over-confidence were Chippy’s downfall. He went for the extra chocolate chip and the door came down before he could escape.

Terra called us from the car to tell us that Lares was helping Chippy make a move. He has been relocated 25 kilometers from the house.

Bon voyage Chippy!

If Chippy makes his way back to the house, then he will be one scary chipmunk.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.4 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 22.9°C
Dewpoint: 15.3°
Humidity: 62 %
Wind: SSE 22 gust 33 km/h
Humidex: 27

Quote

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
Mahatma Gandhi
1869 – 1948