Zip and Alvin the chipmunk continued their daily staredown, and so far, Alvin has turned out to be the clear winner, day after day.

Zip, who has a bigger ego than I do, is frustrated but clearly defeated. Zip likes to come into the pasture in the morning, and the pasture fence separates him from Alvin, who lives in the rocks near the Dahlia garden.

Alvin comes out and starts chirping. Sometimes, this is a warning to chipmunks on the other side of the fence that Zip is hiding in the woodpile (it’s no longer there; we burned it today).

Now I’m convinced that Alvin is also messing with Zip, who is not used to being played with or failing to catch his prey.

The two stare at one another for 10 minutes, the quiet broken by Alvin’s squeaks of warning to the other chipmunks. Zip needs to figure out which way to go, ahead or behind; chipmunks are all around the farm.

But they all know where Zip is. Alvin has told them.

Zip is the first one to break. He starts creeping slowly toward the fence (he knows there are places to slip under it), and Alvin stares at him, chirping now and then.

The minute Zip approaches the wall, Alvin gives him another star and sends more messages. Then, he disappears without a trace.

Zip stares for a while, then gives it up. I used to worry about Alvin—no more. Zip shows no signs of giving up.