Spring - A New Beginning

Oh, the wonders of spring.  The yard has taken on a whole new look dressed in yellows, pinks, blues, and lots of green.  Everything looks so fresh and clean.  The flowers are blooming.  The lilac tree is waiting for just the right moment to burst into vibrant violet and fill the yard with its wonderful scent.  Everywhere I hear the sounds of birds singing as they busily build their nests.  Best of all is the scamper of little furry feet each time I open the back door as chipmunks come out of hiding and dash for the stoop.  I never know who will be first to arrive, but they all manage a stop at least once during the course of the day.

Perhaps the biggest thrill this spring was the return of "old" Mr. Ballsnall.  This chipmunk is so old that he has wrinkles down his back, his face is scarred from constantly defending his territory, and he moves very slowly as he maneuvers his way through the wood pile or up the back stairs.  He is Chip E. deMunk's sibling and the oldest chipmunk in the yard.  It is always such a treat to see him.  I think for him it's just a courtesy call to let us know he's still around.  He shows up once or twice in the spring and then goes on about his business.  Perhaps it's his way of letting us know he thinks of us as well.

Old Mr. Ballsnall - 6 years old - April 07

As for the rest of our wonderful fur-faces, Newbie makes an occasional visit and Sugar Plum and Baby Face are regulars at the stoop. Ears and Sweetie Pie should be ready to have their new spring litter.  They both made an appearance on the stoop in April but have been in their dens for the past week or so.  Spring babies are usually born in late April or early May weighing in at about 1 ounce each.  I've read that they can have as many as 8 babies in a litter, but usually 3 is the norm.  The babies won't make their debut into the yard until the beginning of June and it may be mid-June or July before I can get an up close look at the little chippys.

I noticed Newbie sliding between a slim crack that runs between the foundation and the patio this spring, and there's been some new excavation in Chip's old hole but I haven't seen the new tenant.  

Female chipmunks tend to excavate a new burrow with each pregnancy, and even the males change their front doors from time to time.  There is an interesting story , albeit a sad one, about Chip E's. old burrow.

Chip excavated and finished her den under the patio just before she had her last litter (Ears and Sweetie Pie).  She basically stayed in the same area having been born under the stoop, and there is a myriad of tunnels running beneath the mud room, back stairs, and patio areas,  each well stocked with enough sunflower seeds to feed 10 chipmunks.

I caught an occasional glimpse of her as she worked on her new den, but the daily visits had stopped.  It was obvious she was hard at work by the amount of dirt and stones she removed from the new tunnel.  

One day, as I was heading off to the market, I noticed something move in the small opening where the back stairs rest on the patio.  I called Chip a couple of times and finally she appeared at the opening.  She was no longer pregnant and seemed agitated that she had been disturbed from her work.

Pictures are worth a thousand words and I wished I had my camera with me that day.  The body language was unreal.  The closest I can come to explaining her reaction is to have you imagine a mother, busy at work with her chores, being interrupted by a small child, for the fortieth time, who just wants to ask, "What are you doing?"

This is Newbie emerging from the area where the bottom step meets the patio.

That was the last time I saw my dear friend Chip.  A few weeks later my husband was out in the yard and noticed a movement through a crack in the patio.  When he went over to investigate he saw Chip.  She had just laid down and went to sleep, but it was as though she wanted to make sure we found her.  

My husband carefully removed the cement from the area and gently removed Chip.  We put her in a Shaker box and buried her in the garden near the patio.  A place she had spent all of her life.

Within the next few days, something very peculiar began to happen.  Chipmunks began showing up on the patio and going to the spot where Chip had been found.  Some would sit and just look at the spot, while the little ones would try digging at the earth around the cement.  It was as if they knew she was gone and had come to pay their respects.

I know that sounds crazy.  None the less, the chipmunks were there and not one moved into Chips old den for over two years.

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In those vernal seasons of the year, when the air is calm and pleasant, it were an injury and sullenness against Nature not to go out and see her riches, and partake in her rejoicing with heaven and earth.
                                     -Milton, Tractate of Education

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Fiddleheads and Plantain - Mother Natures Salad Bowl

Fiddleheads (Ostrich Fern)

Fiddleheads can be found in wet habitats like bottomlands, swamps, along stream sides and ponds, or for the less adventurous, at many local grocery stores.  The plant is easily identifiable with its leaves tightly coiled on an 8 inch stem.  April is the best time to harvest this tasty plant in the south and May, in the northern states (can usually be found about the same time serviceberry trees bloom).  Note: there are no poisonous look-alikes.

Boiled Fiddleheads

Scrape any brown scales off by hand and wash plants in cold water.
Boil the plants for about 10 minutes in hot water, drain then add butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Raw Fiddleheads

Scrape any brown scales of by hand and wash plants in cold water.  Add them to your favorite salad.  No cooking required.

Note: Fiddleheads make a great trail snack when hiking in the woods.

Plantain - A Common Backyard Weed

Plantain is an invasive broad leafed plant introduced from Europe and found in many backyards.  As children, we use to scrape the seeds from their long slender spike-like stems and pretend they were coffee beans.  We had no idea they were edible. 

Plantain has numerous basal leaves, the broadest near or below the middle of the plant, 2 to 8 inches long and 1 - 4 1/2" wide.  The leaves are generally slightly rounded at the tip, toothed, and wavy along the margin.  Spikes grow up from the center of the plant containing numerous seeds that produce tiny flowers with 4 translucent petals.

Pick young leaves before the flower stalk appears or pick new leaves through the summer.  Seeds may be harvested from late spring through the fall.

Boiled Plantain

Soak leaves in salted boiling water for 5 minutes.  
Boil with with little water in a covered pot until tender but not overcooked.

Plantain Tea

For a beverage, steep a handful of leaves in a pint of boiling water for 1/2 hour or longer.

Plantain Pancackes

Dry plantain seeds thoroughly and grind them into flour.  
Combine: 2 cups of plantain flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt 
3 tablespoons sugar 
2 eggs 
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup milk

Mix thoroughly.  Add more milk or flour for proper consistency.  Blueberries, apples, or other fruit can be added.  Cook on a hot griddle.  Serve with your favorite syrup.  

Note: only the most tender young leaves should be eaten in salads with other greens.

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