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We’re down to one single woodchuck now.
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Momma and the other 3 siblings have departed the pattern…
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But this little guy knows a good thing when he sees (and eats) it.
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😊
Saw this the other day and had to do a double take.
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And while it’s absolutely true, I had to wonder if it also looks like anyone we know….?
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❤️
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Momma Chuck has left the building and only one of her five offspring is left.
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He shows up every morning and in the early evening for his treats…
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But I have to say…
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He looks a little lonely…
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Poor little guy…
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There’s always one little chucklet that sticks close to mom.
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It might be the runt…
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It might just realize she knows where to find food.
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Either way, momma has a shadow.
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A little mini me chuck.
❤️
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Poor Momma Chuck has her hands paws full with five babies.
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Teaching them to be self sufficient and take advantage of the daily buffet we lay out is exhausting.
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More often than not she beats them to it and gobbles everything up before they wander over.
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Momma needs nourishment and strength.
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As well as a decent support bra.
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What does she think of the local paparazzi?
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This.
🤣
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It was bound to happen. Momma woodchuck found a safe home under our barn and she’s going to raise all her children there from now on.
Yesterday I spotted the first baby nibbler.
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I know they eat all my flowers, but damn it. They’re so stinking cute!
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There are four children this year and they’re just starting to venture out in the open.
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As long as mom is around that is.
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My garden is doomed.
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Remember those $50 blueberry bushes we bought at the nursery?
Turns out they had the same ones at the grocery store for $25.
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The husband couldn’t resist.
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There are days when I prefer to soak myself in alcohol, but apples and watermelons work too.
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I passed on the meatloaf mountain. Bread and potatoes? That’s a bit much.
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Here’s the Junior chuck, just chillin’ on the deck landing.
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Probably still full from all those flowers he devoured.
😖
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When I found and bought my most fabulous beer tap a while back, I ran across another one I knew I had to buy as well.
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I mean really, how could I not?
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It’s a woodchuck. Holding an apple. They could have modeled him after our yearly brood.
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Perfect for a man cave/barn whose crawl space serves as a seasonal chucker hotel.
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He now has pride of place on an overturned shot glass in between the giant bullet and my freaky cocktail stirrers.
Life is good.
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Our resident mallard is really into his food.
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And yes, I meant that literally.
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The rival males still show up now and then.
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But our female has made her choice and they end up wandering around aimlessly…. as single men are apt to do.
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Standoffs with the woodchuck are still a thing.
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And the male mallard is showing some battle scars on his breast.
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But this day they were victorious…. and took a load off next to the spoils.
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Disturbing duck facts added for dramatic ending.
You’re welcome.
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The bowl of deer grain is popular, with everyone but the deer for whom it is intended.
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Our resident woodchuck, (named Chuck because we’re creative that way) loves it…
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But so do our new friends the ducks.
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It’s first come first serve at Casa River, and no matter how much posturing and maneuvering the waterfowl did…
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Chuck reigned supreme.
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And even barked at them when they got too close. I’ve been known to do the same around my margaritas, so I don’t judge.
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Because it’s time to clear out the photo files again.
Momma chuck has been packing on the pounds with an eye toward winter..
But it doesn’t stop her from scrambling up and over the rock wall quicker than I can move my shutter finger.
I have a feeling at least one of her two remaining offspring will be sticking around when the snow flies.
I keep catching him rooting around under the daylilies, filling his mouth with dead leaves and making off for parts unknown with nesting material.
Last year’s fawn comes every night, and since his new antlers are decidedly unbranched, I’ve taken to calling him the antenna buck. Because I’m old… and remember when you had to wiggle those things every afternoon to watch Dark Shadows.
Though these next two pics were at the outermost limit of my zoom, I’m including them because we rarely see momma turkey and her young.
She raises them in the woods and neighboring meadows, never crossing our large expanse of open lawn.
And finally, a few Bambi shots.
Because they’re so damned sweet, I can’t help it.
River's world..... 