Sometimes I go to write a Driftless Thursday post and end up down the proverbial rabbit hole. In case you haven’t realized it yet, I’m the curious sort. I research everything. Something pops into my head and I have to know, just for the sake of knowing.

It’s early March and we’re expecting unusually warm weather next week. This got me thinking about when we’ll start seeing 13-lined ground squirrels because they live on our hillside and go into deep hibernation in the winter. I wonder if we’ll see any next week or if it’s too early. As soon as I see one, it will go in my 365 Journal as the first sighting for the year.

Thinking about 13-lined ground squirrels (so named for the literal 13 lines of coloring down their backs) got me thinking about a particular one. One summer we noticed a lighter version of the above. Louie was a leucistic ground squirrel, meaning his pigmentation was genetically subdued. (This is not to be confused with albino animals, with no pigmentation whatsoever.)

Most of our visitors see these ground squirrels and call them chipmunks. We actually rarely see chipmunks, but this thought made me ask myself about the kinds of chipmunks in Wisconsin. It turns out there are two types.

It looks like they are easy to tell apart just by the stripes (or lack thereof) around the eyes. Next time I see an actual chipmunk, I’ll know what I’m looking at.

You know, just to know. Curiosity satisfied, I can now carry on with my day.