In the mountains of Colorado, we have rodents. Some of the five-star meals for badgers and other carnivores are voles, ground squirrels, mice, and chipmunks. Please don’t hurt the chipmunks, though; they are so cute. Maybe it’s their stripes. In the photo, you see a vole inviting you to like him. Just sitting on a stump, waiting for acceptance. And then it occurred to me that we’re “supposed to” get rid of voles, but we’re fond of chipmunks. So, here are two thoughts: (1) If you are a chipmunk, you were born lucky but that won’t guarantee success without hard work, and (2) if there are any authors and illustrators out there who want to do for voles what Ross Bagdasarian did for chipmunks, let us know.