The Great Outdoors

My yard is teaming with wildlife. I really enjoy watching all the critters; their behavior and routines while I sit by the window or on the deck outside. Its not uncommon for there to be four rabbits in the back yard at one time. As such, I spend a lot of time behind the binoculars. Hanging a couple of bird feeders a few months ago, has upped the enjoyment quite a bit. I've created a neat little ecosystem just a few feet from the front windows of the house. We've got birds, for whom the feeders were intended. We've also got squirrels who ravage the feeders and hang upside down gobbling down (up?) seed. And then we have a chipmunk who collects all the spillage from the ground and runs it all the way to his home in our neighbor's backyard. I say "a chipmunk" because I truly believe we have only one who hangs out at the feeders regularly. He hops over from our neighbors yard, through our side yard, to the feeders and loads his cheeks with seed. It takes him about 20 minutes before his cheeks are ridiculously full and he retreats back to his hole. Yesterday, I set the Nikon on a tripod and sat just a few feet from the feeders. After about 20 minutes scared birds started darting in for a quick bite. Then they started staying. Then the squirrels came. Then Mr. Chipmunk came. I sat very still, for about 40 minutes capturing footage and watching the animals; it was great. When the chipmunk's cheeks had reached maximum capacity, and he started back to his home, I slipped around the other side of the house and met him at his hole. He hopped down in, unloaded, and then sat just below the surface, peering out at me from the shadows. While I stood there waiting for him to come out, I actually felt a bit rude. When you watch these animals so much, you start to understand their personalities. When he finally emerged, he sat there staring up at me with this expression: "What the hell are you doing? Leave!"