It was a gorgeous warm, sunny afternoon, in Trinidad, Colorado, at the foot of the San Juan Mountains, two days after the Autumn Equinox. Chesterfield Chipmunk excitedly ran into the parlor of the Queen Anne Revival Style house where he and his mate, Kimana, lived.

“Hey, Butterfly! There’s something special going on at the church down the street!” (Chet sometimes called her ‘Butterfly’ because that’s what her name meant in her native Shoshone language.) Kimana set down her needlepoint work and peered at Chet over the top of her glasses. If she were human, she would have raised an eyebrow in question. Chet continued, “There are lots of humans there, standing around, talking and laughing. And, they’re not dressed in fancy clothes like they usually are when they visit that church building.” “Maybe it’s some kind of outdoor party.” “Yeah, that must be what it is! Let’s go see!”

A large banner at the entrance to the churchyard proclaimed, “Fall Festival Picnic.” Of course, the chipmunks couldn’t read, so the banner meant nothing to them. However, they completely understood the delicious aromas that wafted through the area. Food! Both sweet and savory! Some hot, and some not. It seemed that nobody cared or noticed that two striped rodents crashed the party.

Humans stood around, eating from flimsy paper plates, baskets, and cups. Crumbs and tasty morsels rained down upon the grassy lawn; as a preacher would say, “It’s like manna from heaven!” The chipmunks rather naturally found their way to the dessert tables. Crumbs from cookies and pastries! Bits of pie dough stuck to delicious blueberries! Some children noticed the little scavengers and offered them tidbits such as peanuts.

Chesterfield led his mate to a pair of large, rugged wooden tables, where humans were eating watermelon. Sadly, few scraps fell to the ground. But, What the Hashbrowns! The humans didn’t eat the melon seeds; instead, they spat them out on a patch of turf. How silly! Seldom had Kimana seen her mate move so quickly. He rushed over to where the seeds were landing and started stuffing his chubby chipmunk cheeks. Of course, Kimana joined him in the feast. These seeds weren’t quite as good as pepitas or elote, but they were still a treat. For fun, the chipmunks eschewed the fallen seeds and instead focused on catching seeds while they were still in the air. The humans were amused by their antics and started aiming the seeds to be in easy reach for little paws.

It was late in the afternoon when two tired and sated chipmunks “rode off into the sunset” as they returned home.