But the meercats are on television, and the chipmunks are on our lawn! It would be better if I started at the beginning. Last summer's hot weather led to some strong thunderstorms. One day, since I love to watch storms, I made sure that the dogs were safely inside and I sat just under the garage roof in my wheelchair. Since it was not dark but only very cloudy I did not see the flash of lightning but only heard the loud clap of thunder. Then two big limbs of the closest tree fell down and seemed to be rolling directly at me. I backed into the garage, believing that those two limbs were going to knock down a part of the house. They stopped moving before that happened but the incident served as a reminder of the power of nature.

The next day was sunny and nice with no indication of the stormy weather that had gone before. I took advantage of the light to inspect the poor tree. My husband, when he joined me, pointed out the burn marks where the bolt of lightning had struck. I couldn't remember seeing it, but certainly it had happened. Large limbs didn't just fall down on their own, especially when immediately prior to the thunder they were firmly affixed to the tree trunk. Now my problem was doing something to clear them away. The first thought was cutting them off the trunk in places where they were attached, cutting them up, and putting them in a place where they could be used as firewood the next winter. I searched through the garage to find the chain saw, brought it out, pulled the starting rope, and got nothing but an unfriendly rattle. Trying again didn't help. A third pull achieved only frustration and the memory that a former friend of my daughter's had used it. This friend had used other tools also but mistakenly not put in the correct fuel. In this case the chain saw needed a mix of gasoline and oil to prevent the engine from seizing. In disgust, I put the thing down on the floor of the garage.

At the same time Patches and Skittles had discovered that our neighbor was out with his black Labrador, "Samantha". They went bounding over to see their friend who had her owner in tow. We began talking about the previous day's storm and what it had done to my tree. I mentioned the dead chain saw, and my neighbor wanted to have a look at it. Sure enough, it wouldn't start for him either. He mentioned that he liked to "tinker with things" at which point I said "Here, have a chain saw." He walked home with his dog, saw in hand. Then the next day I heard a strange noise, a buzzing, and I looked outside. There was my neighbor using his own chainsaw to cut down the limbs and saw them into fireplace-sized lengths! I came outside and said "We're sharing this wood, right?", but he refused. So there I was with two big limbs worth of firewood needing only to be stacked. Using my Hoveround™ I went around loosening up the pile and putting the cut pieces into a plastic cart next to the driveway. Working all day I used up the charge on my battery and I stopped before I became stranded. I worked the next day and two days beyond that to clean off the lawn so that my husband could mow there. A plastic table cloth made a good tarp. Now, let it snow!

The winter at Tangled Oaks was comparatively mild, and we never needed to retrieve our ill-gotten firewood. So there it sat until spring when an interesting thing happened. Patches and Skittles, making their usual sniffing rounds, became very excited in the vicinity of that wood pile. Sniff, bark, wag, and repeat. There was something in there! Could it be a mouse, like the one that had eaten its way into the trunk of my husband's car? Or a squirrel in pursuit of the berries that had grown on that tree? Or a rabbit using the stack as a warren? I was mystified, but the dogs' curiosity continued along with their antics. Seeing nothing, I brought them back inside. It was my husband who solved the mystery: a chipmunk was sitting on top of the blue plastic tarp. When he saw my husband, he skittered down INTO THE WOODPILE! Learning about this, the dogs' behavior made sense to me. They were mighty (if undersized) hunters, and chipmunks would be fair game. Oh no! Poor Chippy!

Finally I saw the chipmunk. He had scurried across the driveway on his way to the Kusa dogwood tree where he might have had a companion or a stash of berries or seeds from last year's fruits. Unfortunately, the dogs saw him at the same time, and the race was on! Chippy scurried as fast as his feet could carry him and then made a dive under the scrubby growth around the base of the tree. The dogs, totally frustrated, kept on sniffing until I called them away. But now they knew where to look for him, and things would never be the same. When either my husband or I let the dogs out for a walk we watched CAREFULLY to see what wildlife might be right outside. Chippy is very brazen and scampers around seemingly without a care. One day I saw him hopping around by the apple trees and then making his return trip right out in the open. Not wise. But that day their attention was distracted by the presence of a rabbit that was peacefully munching grass. Then suddenly the rabbit appeared to freeze, so as not to attract attention. Skittles and Patches took no notice of him until…and then BAM, the chase was on. I fumbled with my dog stopping device, couldn't get hold of it, and just yelled at them to come back. Happily they did, and the bunny continued on into the tree line. The rabbit population is really getting bigger and bolder. One evening I saw three of them together by an evergreen tree, happily eating dandelions and clover. The dogs were heading elsewhere and didn't notice them. Then all together they decided to hop off. Except for the fourth one that had been under an evergreen branch. Oh no, bunny, you need to leave too, pronto! Thankfully he took my advice.