Here in central Florida the woodlands are absent of the twittering sounds that fooled me into thinking birds were chirping from the forest floor in New York. I miss seeing the reddish-brown squirrel with white and black stripes stuffing its cheek pouches with the with red maple winged seeds that whirled to the woodland floor.

The eastern chipmunk is common in the east from southern Canada to southeastern U.S. and small populations exist in the northwestern Florida where it is a species of special concern. In the deciduous forests in New York, chipmunks are ubiquitous. These beautiful creatures emerge from underground boroughs in the spring and are active until early fall. In the winter, chipmunks remain in underground tunnels with the cache of an assortment of seeds gathered in the fall.

During a recent trip to Maryland, I was pleased to see chipmunks climb up the stairs of my daughter’s balcony to eat mulberries that fell to the wooden deck. I shared breakfast time each morning with one in particular that came at the same time each day to eat its breakfast. Now I am back in Florida wishing chipmunks were indigenous to the forests here.