I always call chipmunks chippies now from a summer of hearing them being called that up in Northern Michigan. It is almost instinctual but after I saw it I always stop and wonder, did I really just call that chipmunk a chippy? Then I remember, yes, I have spent way to long using Yooper slang.

Anyway, this cute little chippy was in Yellowstone out by the confluence of the Yellowstone River and the Llamar River. He was definitely the smallest chipmunk I have ever seen. You can sort of tell by the proportion of that piece of grass to his entire body. I just love how he is precariously perched in the bush just munching away.

It is interesting that some of the most common wildlife can still be so extraordinary at times. I ask myself how I can appreciate this little guy so much when I have pictures of other more rare wildlife like a red-tailed fox and a black bear that seem so hard to compare to this picture. Still, I find even the most common of wildlife amazes me. It isn’t the animal, or its rarity that appeals to me but rather the idea that it is life in its most raw and savage form. Even these little cute guys, it is nature, it is life, and to capture any level of life within the eye of my camera is an extraordinary experience.

I had never seen a river otter before I went to Yellowstone, and let me say

THEY ARE ADORABLE

We heard that at the confluence of the Lamar River and the Soda Butte River in Lamar Valley, Yellowstone there were some otter lodges. So we all hiked out of the car dragging our giant cameras and all the equipment out of the car and then walked a half mile to the second otter lodge along the river. We set up the tripods and waited for quite some time when we finally spotted one otter. He was bobbing in and out of the water regularly teasing us with his appearance as we tried to catch a good picture of him. We were about to head back in when Mark turned around and saw the three otters playing.

Keep in mind we can’t exactly yell at each other to tell us that the otters were right behind me and I hadn’t noticed; so there was a lot of frantic gestures and quiet yelling. Not to mention as we ran in the snow with our equipment to relocate in a better spot for the magnificent otter trio. It was quiet the mad dash.

They were rolling around on their backs, sliding in and out of the water just having a good time. They were climbing all over each other, this picture captures some of the playful spirit I got to witness from these little creatures. They really look a lot like little Loch Ness monsters as they crane their necks out of the water, it is really funny to watch especially because of their whiskers.

It really was an amazing experience watching these guys play around. We wanted to let them have their fun and not disturb them so after they crawled back into their lodges we left them behind with a very satisfied day behind us.