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| Newsletter Page 1 of 2 April 2007 |
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Where is the Sunshine? If it wasn't for the rain there would have been no excitement around the yard over the last month. Thank goodness we live on a very high hill and have escaped the lowland flooding that has ravaged the seashore and some of the surrounding areas that border the overflowing rivers. I'm thinking it's time to build the ark and gather up the chipmunks and their friends. Speaking of chipmunks, we haven't seen much of the "munks" in the past few weeks. Newbie has either gone back to sleep or is still looking for the girl "munks". Babyface has been at the bird feeder several times, but she doesn't stay out long and is still very shy. Sugar Plum has not ventured out yet, but she has plenty of food and probably doesn't want to get her feet wet. Sweetie Pie, on the other hand, paid a visit to the stoop is noticeably heavier. I suspect she'll have her litter by the middle of May, but we won't see the babies until mid-June. Ears hasn't been out at all which doesn't surprise me. Last year I didn't see her until the end of May. I was out in the garden planting impatients when I noticed a movement in the Bishop's Weed. I stopped what I was doing and backed off thinking it was a snake (not my favorite animal). The movement stopped immediately, but I waited at least five minutes before resuming my task. As soon as I knelt down, the plants started moving again. Before I knew it, there was Ears sitting on the head of one my garden angels looking down at me. I talked to her while I continued working, and she patiently sat there until I was done. Then she followed me back to the stoop and waited for me to go in the house and bring her a treat. Ears is a very friendly chipmunk, and as soon as I sat down on the stairs, she jumped right up on my knee. She was so excited. I opened my hand to reveal one of her favorite foods - hampster wheels. These are small circular treats covered with various seeds. They're a little large for her small size so I usually hold it while she nibbles away at it. Once she fills her cheeks she's off to her den. I don't know how she can get all that food out of her mouth as fast as she does, but in a flash, she's back on my knee looking for more.
Once the treat is manageable she'll hold it in her front paws and sit with me while she stuffs her face. I find it amazing that she doesn't run off with her treat and take it directly to her den. She seems to enjoy sitting with me, and of course, the feeling is mutual. She's a real sweetheart, and I can't wait until she comes out. ~~ "Popeye" - A Jurassic Treasure Now here's an interesting looking animal. This is an artist conception of an animal found by a group of scientists from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It's about the size of the modern chipmunk and weighed in at about 1 ounce. What makes it so extraordinary is that it lived 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. Perhaps our chipmunks inherited their speed from this little mammal. I'm sure they had to move pretty fast to get out of the way of a T-Rex or one of the other large critters of it's day. Perhaps the thing that saved it from extinction, during those dark days, was the fact that it was a burrowing animal and lived primarily off termites and grubs. It's also possible that they stored food much like the modern chipmunk enabling them to spend longer periods of time underground while the larger animals were left to fend for themselves with whatever was going on during this devastating period.
Click here to read the Nation Geographic article. ~~ Ramping Up With the arrival of spring, nature opens her grocery store with a variety of fresh greens and vegetables. One that I recently became aware of are ramps, a type of wild leeks. Seems like ramps are quite a favorite among many of the southern mountain people who find them growing throughout the rich moist woods and ravines, generally beneath maple trees, but they grow equally well as far north as western Maine, out past the Great Lakes, and as far south as Georgia. Ramps can be identified by the small, white, hemispherical clusters of flowers on a leafless stalk 6-16 inches tall. It's fruit is a small, 3 lobed capsule with 1 hard seed. The plant has a strong onion-like odor, and you will probably smell it before you see it. Harvest the young tops before they unfurl into broad leaves. The bulbs can be used from early spring through autumn. Because they may cause gastric distress, it is suggested that they are eaten sparingly. It is said of ramps, "They's not for ladies or those who court them1," and "...go into solitary in the woods somewheres, stay for two or three weeks, because nobody can stand your breath after you've eat'em2." Fried Ramps (1) Wash ramps thoroughly then cover them with water in a large pot and parboil for three minutes. Drain and add fresh water then cook until tender. Drain once more. Melt butter in frying pan and add cooked, drained ramps, salt and pepper to taste. Serve covered with bread crumbs. Fried Ramps (2) Fry in grease with tuna fish, eggs, or potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ramp Soup Cut one pound of beef in small pieces, add salt and water, and boil. Skim of excess fat. Add ramps, carrots, and potatoes diced in small pieces. When the vegetables have cooked, remove the meat and serve separately. Put the vegetables through a sieve and serve hot. Ramp (as a side dish) Chop young leaves into small pieces. They can be eaten raw or boiled. Add vinegar when served or add some to your favorite salad. You can also take the boiled ramps, drain them, and when cool mix them with mayonnaise and serve them with fresh caught trout. Some people even add one-half cup finely chopped ramps to mashed potatoes just before serving. ~~ New items have been added to The Chippy Store, however, my supplier had a problem with their server and items from two of the stores are not available at this time (Chippy Tails and Chippy Day). I have been told it will take a week to get these two stores back up and running. The other three older stores have no problems. Sorry for any inconvenience. I will update the information about these shops, as it becomes available, on the Chippy Store Page on the web. ~~ You can find past editions of our newsletter by clicking on the following link: www.chipmunk-pictures.com/archives.htm
Click here to go to page 2 - Earth Matters Hope you've enjoyed your visit and from all of us at Chippy Tails have a "wonderful" day! 1. Foxfire 2, Anchor
Books edition: 1973, Copyright ©1973 by the Southern Highlands Literary
Fund, Inc. and Brooks Eliot Wigginton, P58. |
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