Cutest. Rodent. EVER.

There - I've said it.  Chippies are, in my opinion, the cutest rodents on the planet.  

I awoke to light rain this morning, forecast to change to heavy rains by afternoon.  So, what's a blipper to do?  I put on a wide-brimmed hat, polar fleece, and warm clothes and put a plastic bag over the camera/lens.  I then crouched under the edge of the deck with camera pointed at the garden where I scatter sunflower seeds and have a birdfeeder hanging.  When you photography wild things, patience is the first order of business.  So there I huddled in the light rain...waiting.

The first birds to show up were the titmice and chickadees, followed in short order by several different kinds of sparrows, blue jays and cardinals.  I was having a great time clicking off shots when I caught motion about 8 feet in front of where I was crouched ... chipmunk!  And he was hoovering up seeds faster than any vacuum you've ever seen.  I slowly lowered myself to his eye-level and continued firing shots.  When he paused and looked right at me, cheeks stuffed with seeds, I kind of knew I had my shot for the day.  Hope you enjoy it!  

Retired inside for lunch and to warm up/dry off.  

Hubs is doing a Habitat for Humanity project today and then off to meet with the race-team tonight to start plotting next year's race season (never mind that it doesn't start until April, nor that these guys are not known for their long-term planning when it comes to racing...) All good.  

Four more pics on Flickr, if you'd care to have a look starts here with a wet junco, followed by two chippies and a finch.

Hope you're having a good Hump Day!