Making friends of creatures in my yard is not always easy! I was able to make peace with the opossums once I came to understand their uniqueness in the ecosystem. Now, I am trying to do this with the ever-pesky chipmunk.

Let me see, " Chip and Dale have made me smile at their cartoon antics, and Alvin and the gang's Chipmunk Christmas record immortalized these critters. So chipmunks are supposed to be cute, stripes and all. They scurry around the garden and flit cross the driveway, their cheeks stuffed with food from foraging. Up to 10 mature chipmunks can live in an acre. The Eastern Chipmunk can have two litters with up to five in each every year. Well, aren't there just a lot of chipmunks in my backyard!

Their burrows usually have a main tunnel that are 20-30 feet long and include a nesting chamber, food storage chambers, some side pockets, and separate escape tunnels. I just know my very long, very deep flower box is harboring part of their tunnel. In the winter chipmunks hole up and live on the food they have stored, not truly hibernating.

In addition to seeing them, I hear them. They scream in a high-pitched "chuck-chuck-chuck", just when I open the windows for spring air. Back to the positive facts: by storing and scattering seeds, they promote growth of various plants. And a finally, they are my cat's entertainment and sometimes lunch. The line between nature's friend and foe is distinct in my yard. Chipmunks and squirrels (all part of the same family) have definitely not made it to the friend's category.