Travel Agent

My buddy Merry got an entry level job as a travel agent with “Chipmunk Travel” a magazine devoted to luxury vacation spots that cater to critters. The magazine also has its own travel agency. On his first day at the job, as travel agent, his co-workers decided to have some fun at his expense. The agency has a rather hard to please VIP client. In fact of the last five trips this client booked through the agency, she was completely unsatisfied with every last one. Not even the senior travel agents wanted to deal with her. So, they stuck her on the new guy.

Merry started by reading up on the client’s file. The agency had booked luxury vacations in various tropical paradises for this client. The client complained the ocean water was too hot, the sand blistered her skin, and the sun was too strong. According Merry, no one at the agency bothered to look up her species on Wikipedia (a rookie mistake as far as he was concerned!). According to her bio she was a harp seal. Harp seals are native to the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans (think frigid ocean temperatures, ice bergs, and double digit below zero air temperatures.)

Merry gave it some thought and booked her a vacation on Salisbury Beach State Reservation in the middle of January. This beach is located at the mouth of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts. Average day time temps are in the 20s to 30s. The beach is generally deserted in the middle of the winter accept for a few hardy dog walkers. The best part is there is no gate admission charge in January. This would be a 100% free vacation.

Merry made arrangements to meet Harpie at the beach. She decided to swim down from the arctic and take the scenic coastal route. Harpie found the above freezing temps to her liking. There was a coating of snow on the beach to roll around in and have winter fun. The sand was perfect for a massage. She couldn’t thank Merry enough for arranging the perfect “tropical” vacation!

Merry waits along the beach to welcome Harpie to Salisbury Beach.

“This is my idea of a relaxing vacation.”

“This winter sun feels good.”

“Hey waiter can you fetch me an iced latte?”

“It doesn’t get any better than this.”

 “Time for an afternoon nap.”

“Thanks Merry. This was the best vacation ever!”

Cheap "Airfare"

We are pretty hardy chipmunks when it comes to winter time. We are not bothered much by the cold weather. But, I must admit the lack of snow and chilly temperatures has made for a rather dull winter. Normally we enjoy all sorts of winter sports like sledding, skiing, and snowball fights. [Update - we just got a major snow storm but the wind blown snow and double digit negative wind chill factor has kept us snug in our burrows.] Everyone is a bit restless at the Woodpile and the discussion of late has turned to vacations on tropical island paradises. The problem is the cost of airfare. Even a cheap airfare of $300 is expensive for us. The current exchange rate is $1 per 1 lb of sunflower seeds. Which means I would have lug 300 lbs of sunflower seeds to the ticket counter. Folks have been brain storming creative (i.e. cheap) ideas to get to their vacation destination. Mrs Spot  came up with this in genius solution. She is going mail herself by U.S. Mail to Hawaii. She will travel by air mail of course.

I mentioned to her it might be a 2 to 3 day trip by air mail.

I don’t think five sunflowers will be enough.

Mrs. Spot piled a bunch more on the scale. It is important to factor in the extra weight of seeds.

“Chippy, do you think I will need more seeds than this?”

“How much does this weigh?

Spot can mail herself to Hawaii for less than $10, what a deal!

Scavenger Hunt at the Woodpile

Frosty the Snowman didn’t last very long. Rain and above freezing temperatures were his demise. The holiday school break for the kids proved a bit challenging to us parents. Normally, the kids will spend hours amusing themselves out in the snow making snow angels, building elaborate snow forts with secret tunnels, and stockpiling snowballs. The hoarding instinct is quite strong with us chipmunks even at a young age. This year the kids were quite literally climbing the burrow walls and driving us parents crazy. My wife prides herself on the nice smooth surfaces of our burrow walls and now they covered with claw marks.

My cousin Vinnie has been reading up on human psychology and was telling me about the latest studies that recommend human kids get 60 minutes of physical play time a day. Vinnie decided to devised some activities for the kids which were both physically and intellectually challenging. He hid a few pounds of chocolate covered sunflower seeds in the Woodpile. Then gathered all the neighborhood kids together and told them they could eat as much chocolate covered sunflower seeds as they wanted. “Uncle” Vinnie became an instant hit with the kids. Vinnie went on tell them his memory was not what it use to be. He remembered hiding them in the Woodpile to keep them safe, but, forget exactly where. So, they would have to go on a scavenger hunt to find them. By the time he finished his sentence the kids has scurried off at the speed of lightning to find those treats. I must say Vinnie did a really good job of hiding them. It took hours for the kids find all of them. They were completed exhausted by the effort.

(Heinrick) “I have been searching forever and haven’t found anything.”

Heinrick didn’t realize the seeds were only four inches from his nose!

By the time he finally figured out where they were and worked his way over to them, Lily had already swooped in and got them all, and he was left with empty cheek pouches.

Chippy Jr. precariously works his way out on the narrow edge to get his treat.

Heinrick has success finding some seeds.

Snow Day Snowman

We haven’t had much snow this winter so far. It has been mostly rain storms. I don’t mind but the kids have been disappointed. They have only had one snow day at school back in November. They took full advantage of the snow day they got. All the kids – chipmunks, squirrels, and birds – got together to make a snowman. It was refreshing to see the kids out playing rather than glued to their cell phone screens.

A Blue Jay helps out.

A White Throat Sparrow stopped by to help too.

Red Baron makes some final adjustments.

The kids have discovered new uses for sunflower seeds.

My daughter Alice admires the finished snowman.

Bushy Jr.’s big contribution to the project was to eat the leftover sunflower seeds.

After they finished, they had a game of tag.

 Alice and Red Baron kept circling the snowman during the game.