Attack of the Chipmunk!

The other day we were lucky enough to see a Chipmunk out of our front window. I always have my Nikon D80 handy for photographing wildlife in the ten acre woods, so I grabbed it and quietly headed out of the door in hopes of getting a few photos of Mr. Chipmunk doing Chipmunk stuff. Little did I know that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to experience an unusual event and likely one that only a very few have photographed. To begin, here is Mr. Chipmunk thinking he is sneaking across the walk to enter the planter where there’s moist mulch and flowers, without anyone seeing him.

Lucky for me, Mr. Chipmunk was oblivious to my presence and I was able to photograph his every move. You see, I have this amazing talent that no one knows about; animals can’t see or feel my presence. I can sneak right up on them without them knowing it. I tried it on my wife once, but found it doesn’t work on humans very well.

Anyway, I noticed that Mr. Chipmunk kept looking up the brick wall and I wasn’t quite sure why. There was a wasp nest in the corner above the garden hose about 8 ft above the ground. Could the Chipmunk be interested in wasp?

Speaking of wasp, believe it or not this little Chipmunk may have saved me from a trip to the hospital. You see, I am allergic to bee stings. Actually I’m 1 in 1000; that’s how many people are allergic to bee stings. If I’m stung, 2 Benadryl and a trip to the hospital parking lot to sit. I wait until the symptoms disappear; if not, a trip inside for an adrenalin shot. Almost always, Benadryl does the trick for me. If anyone around you gets stung, watch them for any sign of hives, swelling and difficulty breathing. Get immediate medical attention if you suspect someone is having a reaction.  You can become allergic at any time. I wasn’t allergic until I was in my early twenties, just be aware. Now back to my story.

Mr. Chipmunk quickly climbs straight to the nest. The Chipmunk plowed right into the nest head first and the wasp didn’t have time to react. So fast I wasn’t able to capture a picture until the Chipmunk started back down. As you can see, Mr. Chipmunk has a wasp in his mouth. It became a quick snack as he headed down and afterwards there was a lot of chatter which either suggests it was delicious or ouch that hurt. Click on the picture for a close up.

I learned that Chipmunks are experienced wasp tracker and realized that I would have made a terrible Chipmunk because that would have killed me.
Hey, want to hang something on the wall that's unique, see my art www.LeoLakes.com 

Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!