{"id":8407,"date":"2026-02-14T08:45:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=8407"},"modified":"2026-02-14T08:45:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:45:48","slug":"fat-chipmunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/02\/14\/fat-chipmunk\/","title":{"rendered":"Fat Chipmunk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a \u201cSunday Story\u201d that’s coming out on a Saturday.\u00a0 There won’t be time tomorrow – early track meet. So, \u00a0no politics here today, just the \u201cmusings\u201d of a retired coach on the coming of spring.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chipmunk Interstate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I saw a fat chipmunk today. That\u2019s kind of an odd thing to see on this, the end of the second week of February.  Actually, it\u2019s odd to see chipmunks at all this time of year.  Usually, they\u2019re doing whatever it is that chipmunks do to survive a long winter.  And we\u2019ve got a lot of chipmunks here at \u201cDahlman acres\u201d.  In fact, we\u2019ve got a multi-house colony, living in, under, around our privacy fence between us and the next door neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fence serves as safe transportation in the chipmunk world.\u00a0\u00a0You see, there\u2019s a French bulldog on one side, and the four of our dogs on the other side.\u00a0 Each one would like to find out if chipmunks, like the chew toys inside the house, have \u201csqueakers\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0And when we built the privacy fence, we went the extra-mile for the neighbors.\u00a0\u00a0We put pickets on both sides of the framing boards, so that both sides were \u201cfinished\u201d to look at.\u00a0\u00a0We thought it was a nice thing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what we didn\u2019t realize is that we created a three-lane, multi-level transport system for the chipmunk community.  They run on the top framing board, a 2×4, and still remain undercover.  The pickets extend a full twelve inches above the top of the board, so that the chipmunks are never in view to the canines below.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if that isn\u2019t good enough, there\u2019s a second, lower lane, running in the middle of the fence, and a third lane, about a foot above the ground, both completely contained inside the fence.\u00a0\u00a0Now I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve ever seen a chipmunk on that level (I couldn\u2019t if I wanted to).\u00a0\u00a0But, by observing dog behavior, it\u2019s clear that the little rodents are traversing the yard that way as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nexus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where do the chipmunks go?  Well, we suspect they live in warrens near the northeast corner foundation of our house.  We never see them on the ground, or in the house, or even hear them in the crawl space.  But that corner, where the privacy fence connects to the house, seems to be a nexus of chipmunk activity.  And we also think they\u2019ve created some underground route to the neighbor\u2019s house as well, since they see activity on their west side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the trees with chipmunk food, nut and berries, are located at the north end of the yard, near our storage sheds.  So my guess is that there high-speed transit activities in the fence are more than just teasing the dogs.  Like the interstate highways, they\u2019re bringing supplies back to the \u201cwarren\u201d, the quickest and safest means possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The neighbors are not so happy about chipmunks.  There\u2019s lots of rumors of traps, and flooding, and other \u201cmunk-i-cidal\u201d activities going on there.  But on our side, the chipmunks leave us pretty much alone, other than providing ongoing entertainment for the dogs.  They don\u2019t bug us, so we don\u2019t bug them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring Arrives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s Friday, February 13th<\/sup> (and it\u2019s Friday the 13th<\/sup>, just realized that).  In the past few days, Central Ohio has started the \u201cbig meltdown\u201d.  We had a blizzard three weeks ago, dumping more than a foot of snow.  And, the temperatures have been sub-Arctic ever since, with highs in the low teens and lows below zero.  It wasn\u2019t until Tuesday that temperatures got above freezing, and finally the snow is beginning to melt.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was below freezing this morning, but highs will be in the forties today, and even higher in the next few days.  It\u2019s what us old track coaches called \u201cfake spring\u201d.  We could get out on the track, (we could actually see that track), and kids could actually run fast workouts.  In fact, it was days like the ones forecast for next week, with highs approaching sixty, that I\u2019d call a \u201cshirt-off\u201d day.  My boys would be anxious to get \u201cshirts-off\u201d during workouts, even though the temperature with windchill was still in the forties.  All the scolding about staying warm didn\u2019t make a difference.  Come May, they\u2019ll be wearing two sets of sweats in this weather, but in February, it\u2019s \u201cshirts-off\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lay of the Land<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, I looked out the bedroom window this morning, and saw a really fat chipmunk sitting on the very top of the privacy fence.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m not sure how a chipmunk stays fat in February, he must have been very passionate about storing nuts away for the winter.\u00a0\u00a0But there he was, right on top of the pickets, checking out the \u201clay of the land\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0All the dogs were still inside, and he was clearly mapping out a strategy for new food routes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think this chipmunk was looking for his shadow.\u00a0\u00a0He was flat-out declaring spring.\u00a0\u00a0And even though there\u2019s likely to be one more return to winter before spring really gets here, I\u2019m all-in with him.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s time for winter to be over, and let\u2019s get on with the races.\u00a0\u00a0The fence \u201crace-track\u201d is all ready to go!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday Story Series<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

2021<\/h4>\n\n\n\n