Pixel Dreams Groundhogs (Woodchucks) and The Saga of Chew and Chomp

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My Groundhogs - The Saga of Chew and Chomp

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THERE IS A WAR GOING ON BETWEEN THE GROUNDHOGS AND MARY!!!!

Please stay tuned for further developments.....

OK, I admit it, I LOVE Groundhogs!!! I live in a condo complex, and right outside my study window is a retaining wall, on the top of which my wife, Mary, has been doing extensive gardening for the last few years. I really didn't know much about what was up there, but about a year ago, I went up there to check out the flowers and shrubs, but what I found (to my surprise) was 4 good-sized Groundhog burrows, 2 right next to each other, and 2 others a little bit away to the left. Soon after, we discovered a 5th opening further away on the left side of the wall, and only recently we have found a 6th opening, to the right and behind the 2 first openings.

But, those are only the burrows! What really counts is the Groundhogs!! Mary started complaining last summer about how the Groundhogs (there were 2 of them) were eating some of her flowers and plants. So, I started watching, and soon I was frequently seeing 2 very handsome creatures, one smaller (male) and one larger (female) scurrying back and forth along the wall, stopping frequently to nibble a bit on some tasty tidbits, and often crossing the street we are on over to a large lawn on the other side, where there is lots to eat. Needless to say, once I started watching these beautiful animals, I knew I'd found something very special!.

Tragedy struck late last summer when another of our condo residents reported finding a dead Groundhog on the road they often cross, and it appeared to have been run over by a car. Luckily, I never saw the poor deceased hog, and sure enough, after that all we saw was the smaller (male) Groundhog, so we know it was the female that was killed. It was in this state of mourning that our poor male entered the hibernation period last fall, in October.

Last February 18th, the male Groundhog woke up and reappeared!! What a long wait it was since his disappearance into his burrow at least 4 months prior. And, much to my happiness, before long there appeared a new, larger, Groundhog...he had found a new mate! The long sadness was finally over. And around mid-April Mary reported seeing the female Groundhog transporting her new babies back to the 6th hole, one by one, carrying them in her mouth. It was good news! Despite the untimely death last summer, nature had triumphed and a new Groundhog family had become established.

Anyway, all seems well with the Groundhog family now, and about 2 months ago, I decided we needed to give names to our 2 adult Groundhogs, since they were now such a part of our property and our life. It was a difficult job coming up with appropriate names, but Mary, after watching them chewing and chomping on her newly growing flowering grass came up with the names Chew and Chomp, for the male and female, respectively. I thought these were perfect, and that's now the only names we call them by. I just now went out by the wall, and got some pictures of Chomp poking her head out of her burrow. Groundhog watching is, to me, what bird watching is to others. It's great fun!!!

Just to add an extra dimension to my involvement with Groundhogs, last April my company moved to new offices. A few of us had gotten into the habit of taking a walk around the grounds after lunch every day at our old offices, and we continued that tradition at our new location. To my amazement, the new grounds are Groundhog Heaven!!! We have found more burrows than I can keep a count of, and we have identified at least 3 distinct Groundhog families, each of which had babies in April and May!! We have been lucky enough to be able to have gotten close enough to see all the families, and we have watched the babies playing and wrestling with each other. What a treat!!!

There was one burrow in particular that we enjoyed, and there were 2 babies there that we saw playing around while we were driving in each morning, and that would be out during our lunch time walk. One baby didn't seem at all afraid of us, and would stand up at the entrance to the burrow observing us. We named that one Chipper. The other one was more shy and would poke it's nose out of the burrow and then quickly disappear back down into it's lair. That one we named PokeyNose. One of the people I walk with is a fervent bird-watcher, but has now become an enthusiastic Groundhog watcher also! One you watch them, it's hard to stop. They are such marvelous creatures!

Come to think of it, there is also a Groundhog Heaven near my home also! After work I usually go for a walk with Mary, and sometimes we'll walk along a road at the bottom of our condo complex which goes along the edge of a county park. The park in that area is completely wild and overgrown, and more often than not, we'll see 2 or 3 Groundhogs that come out of the weeds and flowers, poke around for a bit by the road, and then scoot back into the protection of the overgrowth when we get real close. It's a rather large park, so I'll bet there are numerous Groundhog families living hidden away in that park also. So, at home we are literally surrounded on all sides by families of Groundhogs! Is it fate, or just luck, how often my path crosses that of my friends the Groundhogs??? Whichever, it is, I am grateful for it!!!

So, that is my story as of this moment. Below are links to as many Groundhog sites as I can find to help as many of you as possible to enter the world of the Glorious Groundhog! See you at the burrow!!!

Pixel Dreams Groundhog Heaven

is created by James V. Signorile

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