Hey Fatso...Let's Play Some Bunghole

11 summers ago when Paul Bunyan and I got married in these wild woods of Northern Minnesota, Paul Bunyan's father, who is now most notably known as "Popi" became great friends with a chipmunk named "Notch". He was known as 'Notch' because of a defining feature on his ear. Notch became a member of our family as we would each sit down by the rocks and hold peanuts out for him to peacefully take from our fingers. He would sequentually pack them away in his cheeks and ferry them away to his hideout, where I assume he would stockpile them for the cold and dreary Minnesota winters. Notch has since come and gone but I believe we may just have a Notch offspring here this summer. There have been other chipmunks since Notch, but none as friendly or as confident as this year's chippy "Peanut" (thus named by Claire). Peanut's character, which sometimes urges him to stratch at random legs or bite the fingers that are holding the peanuts out for him to take for FREE, reminds us a little of the original Notch, but with the modern day rudeness that we're all embarrassed to say our children may have as a result of being a product of the 'drive thru' generation. "It's mine...I tell ya' and it's mine fast, or it better be free."




Look at peanut pack away the peanuts. He's going to be livin' the high life this winter. All his friends will be knockin' on his den door. "Dude," they'll say, "where djew get the stash?" And it will be Peanut's character, when it comes down to sharing this bounty, that will be tested when it's 40 degrees below zero. He'll have to think about how it might feel to receive a gift from his comrades, if they were in his place...the lucky bastard.

But for now, he's scratching at the legs of his masters as they play a game they learned in Chicago. It's called Baggo or Corn Hole. Paul Bunyan, you remember him? He can build anything. So, he threw together a few Corn Hole boards and before you know it, we're all throwing bean bags into wooden boxes with holes sawed out of them. It's a lovely game, much like horseshoes...without the danger of lost toes or ankles. There are websites designated to the game. Just type in Baggo into your search engine.



But I can't help calling it Bunghole. And this may have something to do with a few someones who painted the 'boards' for Popi....some beautiful original designs. I tell ya...nothin like a homemade gift!