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We had a spell of wicked dry weather this summer. No rain for weeks… so everything was brown and dry.
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Including the chucker family. They’re too short to reach the bird bath I kept filling, so I took to offering them a drink on their level.
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I’d never watered woodchucks before and wasn’t sure how they’d take to it….
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But the poor thirsty things ran right to the bowl as soon as I walked back into the house.
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Guess they needed something to wash down those weeds.
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Moving around the corner of the house with the husband’s new toy….
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More shrubbery was tamed. (Yes, I’m aware we’re missing a few shutters. They’re in the garage, where they’ve been since they blew off the house 4 years ago. That’s how long I’ve been bugging the husband to put them back up. 😖 )
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And in the other corner?
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The flowering quince bush from Hell. I annually curse whoever planted this abomination of a plant.
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Every year we wack it down.
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And every year it grows back up to the roofline. If we let it go unchecked? I believe it would swallow the house in one gulp.
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It’s pretty when it blooms, and yes….
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It produces (inedible) quince fruit, but it’s an utter nightmare the rest of the year. Did I mention the beast is also full of thorns? Good times when you have to gather it up, stuff it in a garden cart and haul it down to the woods, over and over again.
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The woods that are wayyyy down there. At times it seemed like the trimming would never end.
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But we finally got it down to the last few branches.
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Before….
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And many sweaty hours after….
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Is it pretty? No.
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Heck, with the husband wielding the trimmer it isn’t even straight. But it’s smaller… and we can see out the windows again.
That’s a win when battling demonic shrubbery.
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In life, you sometimes have to fight for what’s yours.
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And if you’re a baby woodchuck, you have to fight birds.
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They’re always in the way…
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And always eating your food.
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At times, you’re outnumbered.
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And when that happens?
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You call in reinforcements.
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When the nightly buffet of apples and deer grain is laid…
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I also put out some special grain free dry dog food with taurine for the fox and skunks.
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Problem is the woodchucks and ducks like it as well and scarf it up quickly.
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But sometimes they have competition.
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And a stand off with Starlings begins.
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Sometimes it gets physical.
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Every night at dusk, the skunks show up.
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It’s usually too dark to take pictures through the window, but last week they arrived early.
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And trust me, they really are fun to watch.
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Of course, sometimes….
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They don’t get along.
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And it’s on!
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There’s a lot of squealing….
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A lot of posturing and tail raising..
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But more often than not….
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They settle in and eat side and side.
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No air freshener required.
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And though it’s not riveting footage, here’s a little skunk video for your viewing pleasure.
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Two baby woodchucks showed up for apples yesterday. ( we put them out for the deer but these little guys are beating them to it )
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The chuck on the right seemed to be annoying his brother with his close proximity.
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Before long they were squabbling.
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And a sibling scuffle ensued.
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Left woodchuck held his ground, as well as his apple.
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And right woodchuck was forced to step aside.
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Family.
What are ya gonna do?
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Wouldn’t it be great to always have an umbrella handy?
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No more rooting through the nightmare that is your hall closet or under your lost french fry infested car seats.
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Every time it rains?
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You just flip your built in umbrella up over your head… and the problem is solved.
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What… you were expecting Christ and the Madonna?
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Sorry, wrong blog.
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On my page you get momma chucker and the baby that sticks close to her side.
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She’s started to swat them away when they try to nurse….
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But brings them to the buffet every day.
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Happily they love to eat broad leaf weeds.
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Because momma’s not sharing her apples.
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Starling photo bomb on the left.
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The little guys (girls?) are branching out and feeling more comfortable in the backyard.
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We often see 3 but rarely all 4.
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Momma wanders off now and then but usually shows up at apple time.
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Not that she shares mind you.
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As much as I despise them for eating my flowers, it’s hard to stay mad when you see the little ones scampering around.
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I’m not sure why…
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But momma woodchuck always looks pissed off.
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Is it because her children are always under foot?
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Or because the pesky human woman keeps spraying all the tasty munchies with coyote urine?
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Maybe it’s because her tatas are hanging so low they scrape the rock wall.
Tough call… but I’m going with gravity. That’s bound to make any woman cranky.
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