Bill has a great fondness for the groundhogs we see around our yard. He has dubbed one of them Gary. 'Course, they all are Gary because we can't tell one from the other. We know there are definitely two different ones around because we've seen both of them at the same time. Mostly, they forage in our next door neighbor's yard so we see them at a distance. But today we discovered that there is a Gary, Jr. He's smaller than the others and likes to hide out under the woodpile. He has a fondness for flowers but that's okay. They are wild flowers that he's eating. Like the sunflowers that have sprouted on their own under the bird feeder. Here are some pics that I took of him this morning.
He's out there again right now as I'm typing. I'm just hoping that he's too big for that black cat to try to tackle. It's good to see the groundhog population hasn't died out. When we first came to look at this house to buy it, there was a dead groundhog down by the gate here at my window. I know most people hate having them in their yard but I'm of a different frame of mind. We are intruding upon their territory. We built on their grounds. Generations and generations of groundhogs, and chipmunks, and squirrels, and deer, and skunks, and raccoons, and possums were here first. So what if this little guy bent down the one sunflower that had finally blossomed and ate it. Oh, well. the squirrels and goldfinches would have gotten them if he hadn't. I'm just a natural kind of gal, I guess. I would rather see the wild animals out there doing what they do instead of seeing a pristine carpet of grass and prize flowers. There's too much vanity in this world, as it is. Besides, it looks like he's trimming down all that plaintain grass and dandelion greens anyway. At least I have a yard that I'm not afraid to go out in. Not afraid of bombs falling on it or civil war crazies storming into it and raiding my house. That sure puts it into perspective and why I can't get upset over one sunflower biting the dust, or rather falling into his hungry jaws. |
