We've long since become accustomed over the years, to the squirrels; red, black and grey, anticipating our daily ramble through the wooded ravine close by our house. It all began, actually, with Stumpy, the small black squirrel without a tail, originally confronting us, demanding a peanut.

I'd just shortly before begun setting out peanuts at discrete spots within our ambling range which takes up several kilometres of forested trails within the ravine. It hadn't taken long for him to figure out we were the source of the offerings. He'd stand before us until we selected the largest of the three-chambered peanuts and toss it to him. And he'd often carry it a distance of several feet, even stand, back to us, efficiently removing the shell, extracting the nuts, and eating them, then return to where we stood watching, to ask for more.

Over time, other squirrels became very much aware of these postings and we'd see them at the exact places where peanuts were regularly deposited, awaiting the day's nuts. Eventually, yet another stump-tailed squirrel mustered the courage to confront us, in a different part of the woods that evidently represented its territory. The others, those with luxuriant tails, were never as bold, though some would, when peanuts were tossed directly at them, scramble to acquire them, while the action of a peanut flying through the air toward them would panic others and they'd scramble defensively in the opposite direction, sans nut.

In the winter, chickadees began to seek out the peanuts at their regular locations. And just lately, we've become very aware that crows too have recognized our presence, and await our arrival, then follow us through the woods,candidates for welfare deposits.

Yesterday afternoon marked the first time a resident chipmunk whom we'd seen often before avail itself of peanut deposits, actually ran after me as I descended the long hill into the ravine. When I turned to face him scrambling toward me, he hesitated, stopped and waited. It was evident what had occurred; the peanut I'd tossed into the hollow of an old tree stump had bounced, fallen out and rolled down into the bracken behind. In seeking out his usual peanut, finding nothing, the chipmunk surmised that following me for the next deposit would be to his advantage.

I threw a peanut toward him and he instantly retrieved it and began stuffing it into his little pouch. Then he stood, continuing to regard me, whereupon I threw another peanut toward him, which he also retrieved and stuffed alongside the previous one.

Imagine: a personal fan club.