Spring has Sprung

And the Eastern Chipmunks were out and about.

I noticed one running about on the waterfall, currently shutdown for the winter, out side my home office. (The white lines in these shots are the posts for our deck railing; adds a bit of a 'peeping tom' effect.)

And then I saw a second one, and the two chasing each other. But what made me get my camera was that one, in passing, "hugged" the other. How cute I thought. But what's the chance of that happening again? I figured I had missed the shot.

It happened again.

Now, chipmunks will be occasionally out and about during the winter, when the temperatures are mild. But this was different.

Very different.

Eastern Chipmunks have two mating periods, on in March-April and one in July-August. The gestation period is thirty days. And the young first leave the nest at about four weeks.

The pair will not stay together. The female will tend the nest and raise the young. Deadbeat dads the male are.

And then it was over, and time for a rest.

Or not, as it was but a short interlude.

And then it was really over.

The two of them stayed close to each other for the rest of the day, but as noted above the male will eventually wander off.

But for now, here is the happy couple looking out from under the veranda of their (her?) current home. Which will in the not too distant future be flooded, as the water will be flowing across these rocks.

🐿  🐿  🐿

I suppose if the tunnels were dug in the right way, the nest and food storage chambers may stay dry. And this is not the first year we've seen chippies in the waterfall rocks. So maybe they know what they are doing.

I hope so.