See, that little chipmunk, over by the pine tree?

Yeh, I know he isn't all that big but he sure can do amazing things. He reminds me of the squirrel in the movie "Ice Age". You know the one, he manages to get into some mighty fine messes yet at the end of the day, he is the hero who still doesn't get the nut.

Course, rodents have evolved since then. This chipmunk usually gets what he is after but the rest of it? At least one time, he saved a life. Honest, he did it without guile and without any regard for his own safety.

Then again, I have noticed that chipmunks often forget certain things are dangerous to be near. For that matter, I noticed that  turkeys also tend to forget that as well. More about turkeys later, for now, let's get back to the chipmunk.

Every year, he scurries about and looks for goodies to add to his hoard. At least I think it is a he, though it could just as easily be a she... For the sake of keeping myself from confusion, he shall remain a he.

Always in a rush, except for when the rascal is watching a bird in the air or another chipmunk, this little one moves deftly through the yard. Making  scratching and scritching noises with his claws and weird sucking, sniffing noises as he tests nuts and other finds.

One day while he was moving about, doing his usual thing, a neighbor was getting into her car. She was getting ready for a very busy day, the type you like to avoid as you are doing things you can't stand doing. She had that harried look people often have as she looked about her car and rifled through her purse. No doubt, she was making sure
she had everything she needed for the day.

Meanwhile, our heroic chipmunk had his eye out for a hawk he had spied in the air. The hawk had been gliding about for a good ten minutes or so and poor chipmunk was antsy. Can't say I blamed him, hawks find chipmunks rather tasty, when they catch the little rodents.

Neighbor number two was working on her garden and was mumbling as she tried to refill her bird feeder but all she was doing was spreading seed all over the lawn. Now, you know chipmunks, this little tyke was really torn. On one hand he had a circling hawk to watch as it watched him and on the other, he was salvitating over the banquet spread out
just two driveways away.

Now, while all this was going on, a boy had just woke up and realized he was late for school, so he grabbed his gear and jumped onto his bike, pedaling as fast as his feet could pump.

Neighbor number two, gave up in disgust, left the bird seeder and walked into her house. Neighbor number one, revved up her car and moved the stick to drive. The boy came tearing through driveway two and the chipmunk decided to go for the seeds, just as the hawk dived.

Chipmunk ran up the fence and jumped, landing on the hood of the car startling the driver.  She hit her breaks, just as the Hawk came tearing through the space where the chipmunk had been. The boy raced by the driveway, just as the woman hit her brakes and stopped, mere inches from the boy. The chipmunk, unaware of the havoc, dived into
neighbor twos garden and hid under a bench as he greedily grabbed the seeds.

Hawk, unable to catch his prey, glided to an oak and looked about for fresh meat. The boy, continued on his way to school as the neighbor in the car, took huge gulps of air and tried to calm down as she realized she almost hit a child. Neighbor number two, hearing the noise, rushed out of her house and looked about. Seeing nothing wrong, she noticed a hawk in the nearby oak tree and with her broom, shooed it away from her garden.

Only the boy and chipmunk were unaware of the havoc and near misses.