They are no longer quite so cute, these groundhog babies. They’re a pain in the tush. I’ve tried everything to block off the garden, which is quite large, and on a downward slope, and they outsmart me every time. They are intelligent little critters. So, they keep getting in the big garden. I was on high alert all afternoon yesterday, going in and out of the house (with a mask on) trying to find a way to keep them out. Wire fences don’t work. They can get through them. I even saw one of them trying to move a brick.

I finally jury-rigged a ‘wall’ of bin covers that we’re going to take to the dump. But since the ground is uneven, they can still sneak through tiny openings.

I saw one climb the tree to the right of the bin cover to get to the other side.

I don’t want them destroying my garden. We don’t have any money to invest in a more permanent barrier, so that’s out. I had to keep opening the door so they would run back to their den. They do come up to the area by the funky patio, which is fine. That’s usually where  the rabbit eats. Mom still goes off to the grass near the shed and she disappeared for several hours yesterday. They aren’t quite brave enough to head over to the grass yet.

By the way, there are only five now. I think the little runt, who kept trying to latch on to mom, passed away. Very sad.

Here’s the other problem. The family stays together for about 2 – 3 months, which takes me right through the summer.

My plan, for what it’s worth, is to spend time on the funky patio, reading, etc. when I know they are inclined to come out in search of food. Don will do the same thing. There are other homes for the groundhogs, notably under the shed, and I’ve seen the mom disappear under the shed several times. Maybe if it gets too frustrating, she’ll move them over there. There are also tunnels between our property and my neighbor’s. Plenty of places to go. If they lived under the shed, they’d do what mom does and eat the grass over there.

Fingers crossed. Groundhogs are intelligent animals, so I have my work cut out for me.

Let’s see, what else happened yesterday?

The air quality has improved and is back to normal. That happened last night. Hurrah!

Oh, that’s right. Trump was indicted!

I always knew it would happen. It will most likely happen with election interference and inciting a coup, as well. I never had a doubt.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

It’s pretty horrid here right now. The smoke filled sky, the smell of smoke, the air quality warning from the EPA was at Very Unhealthy all day long yesterday. We ventured outside to take a picture of the sky – with masks on – but we sure didn’t stay out there very long.

And the sun was redder than what you see in this photo.

Ominous.

It was a surreal day with the house closed up, a yellow sky, and the delight of watching the groundhog babies. Mom was on alert and we found out why  – a fox trotted through our yard and then to the back forty. We quickly called our neighbors who have chickens as the fox was headed to their property. Thankfully, the chickens were safe in their house.

A dystopian atmosphere all day long. We’ve been told to stay inside today as well.

A respite from the doom and gloom:

In the middle of the afternoon, mom and babies were on or near the funky patio. I think mom is showing them where to find food. Personally, I was grateful that they were cleaning up some of the weeds.

I do have to venture out to water my plants today and I’ll probably do that this morning. Masked of course. I’ll do it quickly.

Just checked the air quality and it is 171 – Unhealthy. So it’s a bit better today, but still bad. Sigh.

Thank goodness we have some apple pie in the fridge!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Well, the air quality here is terrible due to the smoke from the fires in Canada. We’ve been advised to stay inside and today, that’s just what I plan to do. We left some of the windows open yesterday and by the end of the day my eyes were burning. They’re all shut now.

I know many of you are experiencing the same thing and, of course, many of you who live in Canada or on the West Coast have experienced this many times. The photos from NYC were eerie.

I do have respiratory problems, so it’s best to lay low for the next few days.

Moving on to a delightful story.

I happened to look out the living room window yesterday afternoon and there was a groundhog standing on his/her hind legs on one of the big rocks that edge the garden. I’ve seen this pose before. It’s an ‘alert’ pose. I told Don that I was watching the groundhog and before I got the words out of my mouth, two babies appeared! I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were emerging from an opening at the base of the big maple, where groundhogs like to hang out. Oh my goodness! Don came over and we proceeded to spend at least 45 minutes watching them. I grabbed my big girl camera with the telephoto lens.

Here’s mama with two babies to the right. She was high alert. At one point, she emitted a sharp whistle and the babies scurried back inside the tree. I’ve read about this whistle but this is the first time I’ve heard it. It sounds like a sneaker screeching on a basketball court. A few minutes later, still standing on her hind legs, another whistle. And boy, did those babies know exactly what to do.

Three babies.

You’ll note they are right next to my garden. I want to get some more metal fencing, but I’m stuck here today, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Later on in the afternoon, I opened the front door to the porch and I saw mama and (this happened very quickly) I’m pretty sure I saw SIX babies! They were all running back to the tree.

And even later on, mama was trying to eat some of our grass and one baby kept trying to latch on to her. Do they nurse like most babies? I think they must. This kid was relentless, following mom all over the place. Mom was determined to get some food so she kept shrugging the baby off. Eventually, mom went far away and the baby didn’t feel comfortable following her, so she stayed right by the tree waiting for her.

Oh my heavens, they’re adorable.

But this brings back a memory of the last time this happened and that was many years ago. I was constantly worried about the babies because they would get very close to the road. You know me, I’ll be worrying about them every day. Not to mention my garden.

I like that they’re so close to the house for photos but I really wish they were under the shed for safety. Plus, there’s a lot more grass over there. Who knows, there might be other groundhogs under the shed.

I’ll be on the watch today and hope to get more photos of these little ones.

We’ve sure had a lot of babies on the property this year.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

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