"... Mom said to always eat my fruit"

Meet Mortie, one of the NEW litter from the Hillside Chippies! I was kind of wondering why I was suddenly seeing so many chipmunks around the patio, but had chalked it up to pre-winter food hoarding. Well, I was sort of right ...but what I realized today was that some of them are babies, all learning the fine art of filling their cheeks with food. I noticed little Mortie this afternoon as he scampered around looking for seeds, fruit, or just about anything else - and what struck me was 1) his tail looked kind of puny, and 2) he had that "baby walk" that little animals have. That is when I put two and two together. I remember reading that it is common for females to have a second brood in the late summer or early fall. Click - it all fell into place!

Yes, you are ALL aunts and uncles now!!! Apparently little Mitsy has been raising her fall brood and they are out of the nest and wanting to say Hello Blippers. And Mortie says, send food.

And speaking of Mitsy, thank you for sending her to the SL page! It is hard not to love chipmunks, isn't it? They are uber-cute.

And speaking of cute, one of the squirrels showed up on the deck this morning for a nosh. I was sitting about 8 feet away and was able to get a nice portrait of him in his fall wardrobe.

No luck with the finch capture today. In fact, I did not see the finch which makes me wonder if I am too late. As the conjunctivitis gets worse, it makes them much more vulnerable to predation. I did see about 6 or so finches at the feeder, but after checking them with binoculars, they all looked healthy. I will look again tomorrow, but I am not feeling real optimistic about this one.

Hubs and are off to the mall this evening to look for the hiking boots for me. I hate the mall (too much noise and confusion) and I actually don't much like shopping (I know, it's as if I'm not a proper woman) but we will make it worthwhile by stopping somewhere for dinner and a beverage on the way home.

Hoping you are all having a splendid Saturday!