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People think I’m crazy for the daily and nightly buffet I lay out for our wild visitors…. but ya know what?
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I’ve totally been phoning it in.
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If you can access the Dodo from your phone, check out the video. It’s a riot.
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I can’t say this with any certainly, but I’m guessing the demise of our cedar tree was woodchuck related.
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It stood in that corner for almost 20years with no issue and then, wham! It was dead. Upon removal we found this…
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A hole, next to the trunk. And on further examination…
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A hump of dirt with a strategically placed pile of poo. On the other side of the hump?
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Another hole, which meant woodchuck tunnel. I figured they must have destroyed the roots of the tree with their digging, but in actuality the tunnel goes under these other bushes that weren’t affected at all.
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So it’s a mystery, but either way? I’m left with an empty space and a stump.
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Because while my husband loves to cut things down with his chainsaw? He could care less about the mess he leaves behind.
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And it’s clear from the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on deterrents… I can’t.
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Yeah, I gave you a chance…. and they ate right through you.
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You might as well join them.
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Or rather feed them your fruit and salad scraps in the hopes they’ll leave your flowers alone.
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Watermelon was a huge hit. They positively inhaled that.
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But honestly, would it kill them to wipe off the scowl off their faces and maybe shoot me a grin now and then? I think it’s the least they could do.
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Inter species meetings happen quite often in our backyard.
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Sometimes these end peacefully.
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Other times not.
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The not requires turning on three Scentsy burners and multiple fans.
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This was definitely a not.
🤢
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This isn’t the greatest picture…
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But it’s literally the only one I’ve been able to get of momma and all four of her offspring. (Plus a grey squirrel interloper.)
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And here are the quads…
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Jostling for prime apple position.
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They’re comical to watch.
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And squabble like any other bunch of siblings.
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Have you ever had an oh shit moment?
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The look on this woodchuck’s face says he’s about to have one.
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I want to stay mad at them.
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But when they’re this damn cute?
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It’s hard.
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They’re leaving my flowers alone for now.
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And seem to be satisfied stealing the deer apples.
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Cute little buggers.
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I saw this the other day and was sorely tempted.
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I totally need cherry tomato toting ants.
In other local news….
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Such a neighborly thing to do.
And lately a dip in the pool has been sounding wonderful with temps being hot, hot, hot.
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Of course this is Maine, so while it felt like 104 one morning…
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Two days later it felt like 45.
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I replanted my left over garden bed with geraniums after the baby woodchucks ate all the petunias.
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But not before the little bastards darlings chewed all the leaves off my gay feather.
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At least they left the blooms this time.
🥴
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Now I’m wondering what an appropriate beef jerky card message would be.
I wanna hold your ham?
Nice to meat you?
Don’t go bacon my heart.
I have a t-bone to pick with you?
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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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I don’t often catch the baby woodchucks nibbling my flowers but this little dude was quite brazen.
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Strolled right up on the deck and started chewing the bloomless petunia I’d transplanted from the garden to a pot because they were eating it.
Yeah.
That worked well….
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River's world..... 