Sometimes it’s a wonderful thing.
Loyalty, fraternity….
Oh come on, you knew this would be about woodchucks not people.
But sometimes….
Siblings squabble.
And boy….
If looks could kill.
Tag Archives: woodchucks
Random critters.
I was finally able to grab a few pictures of our resident buck.
Which is getting harder to do as the summer wears on.
But this father son shot was pretty sweet.
Junior’s antlers are growing.
And it always makes me wonder what the felt feels like.
Naturally there are woodchuck photos.
And some close ups.
We have one lone chipmunk this year.
And yes, those pesky red squirrel babies are still here.
Using our deck railing as a cafeteria.
As well as a toilet.
Yes, I’m talking to you.
Clearly your mother didn’t tell you not to shit where you eat.
Bad form. Very bad…..
Woodchucks vs starlings.
What’s a baby woodchuck to do?
All he wants to do is peacefully munch the bounty thoughtfully provided by that crazy woman in the house.
It’s bad enough his pesky brother shows up….
But then that pesky bird tries to steal his blueberries.
And before you know it…..
The bird calls in reinforcements.
And things go downhill fast.
What’s a woodchuck to do?
Another woodchuck dump.
Of photos.
But after the post I did the other day, I don’t blame you for wondering.
Babies have grown up.
And venture out daily. Three in the above picture.
They are also getting fat.
Though I can’t imagine why.
I’m sad to say I saw a fox run off with one in it’s mouth last week.
And though momma chuck does her best, nature will occasionally have her way.
She started with 6 children, went down to 4…. and now it’s 3.
Quadruplets are now triplets.
But they’re still fun to watch….
I’m still trying to make friends…
And Momma still needs a good support bra.
Deer me.
Okay, if you insist.
I caught a couple of nice shots of our old doe in the field.
I don’t know how many seasons she’s seen, and the poor thing didn’t even blow her winter coat this year.
But she comes for dinner every night.
And brings her kids.
Whose little Frankenstein nubs always make me chuckle.
Everyone gets along well.
Except this one.
Who sticks his tongue out at woodchucks.
I guess everyone has a rude child once in a while.
It’s that time again.
Woodchucks!
Posing in clover.
Having a healthy snack.
Kissing.
Or biting, who the hell knows? They’re rodents….. for all I know they’re discussing campaign strategy.
They love lettuce.
And since we’ve been flooded with it from our CSA, so have they.
Behold –
My first photo of momma and 4 babies together.
She’s down 2 due to fox predation, so the sextuplets are now quadruplets.
Poor momma.
She’s fiercely protective, but Mother Nature always has the final say.
Like these quick shots I didn’t have time to focus.
Do you suppose that starling called Uber….
And this was what showed up?
Critters.
If you’re getting bored of our backyard zoo…..
Tell me.
I won’t stop posting pictures….
But I could probably be talked into just the highlights.
Or then again….
Maybe not.
So feel free to skip these posts if critters aren’t your thing.
I won’t be upset.
But he might.
A woodchuck dump.
Don’t get excited, it’s a photo dump. No one wants to see the other kind.
My files are filled with woodchuck pictures.
Mother and baby on the rock wall.
Mother bringing Junior to the back deck.
Junior checking out the back deck.
Junior checking out the new grill.
Two babies on the other rock wall.
Two babies playing tag.
Two babies eating apples.
You see how this goes? I flood you with woodchuck photos and you say awww.
Here’s a woodchuck, a turkey and a duck for variety.
Momma had 6 babies and I have yet to get them all in one picture.
But now would probably be a good time to say awww.
They’re just screwing with me now.
The woodchucks.
Adorable, but hungry.
And there’s no rhyme or reason to what they’ll eat.
This echinacea?
Stripped to a stalk the same day I planted it.
They devoured it before I could even get a picture, and if you know me? You know that’s fast.
This candy cane Dianthus? Nope. They left it alone.
The exact same plant on the other side of the garden bed?
A mere shadow of itself.
WTF?
So when it came time to replant the bed I had removed the woodchuck chewed mallow from, I went to the experts and got a list.
A list of woodchuck proof flowers they were guaranteed not to eat.
Blanket flower? Check!
Planted two, they haven’t touched them.
(Please note dianthus is on the list and we all know how that turned out.)
Foxglove? Check!
They literally took one bite and ran.
Good thing since it’s the source of digitalis.
Last on the list? Yarrow.
If you’ve ever had deer nibble your gardens to a nub, you know they hate yarrow.
Every critter hates yarrow…. so I planted yarrow.
So…..
Yeah.
The little buggers are screwing with me.
There’s no other explanation.
And look at that belly…
They’re getting fat doing it!
I am not happy. Again.
Remember the beautiful mallow I planted this spring?
They were doing so well.
I’d found the perfect spot for them and was looking forward to years of beautiful blooms.
But it won’t happen.
Because…..
So I sprayed.
And they ate right through it.
I sprayed again.
It didn’t repel anything. Matter of fact, I think they liked it better that way.
So I sprayed a third time.
You know where this is headed right? I spread red pepper flakes, I scattered moth balls… it didn’t matter.
And now?
My beautiful mallow look like this:
The adorable and quite ungrateful, I feed them apples for Christ’s sake! little furry creatures discovered my mallow and decided to keep noshing no matter what deterrent I tried.
Yes, I’m talking to you.
Apparently mallow is a tasty woodchuck treat, and they made short work of my once gorgeous plants.
They nibbled so much and so quickly, I had to dig the plants up and put them in pots on our deck.
And then….
Yeah.
The I still love them but they’re trying my patience tiny devils climbed up on the deck, tracked down the mallow and tried to munch them right in front of me.
That’s balls.
So now?
My ugly ass, half dead, skinny, leafless stalks of mallow are up on the table looking ridiculous while I ply them with Miracle Grow and hope for the best.
But I am really not happy.
River's world..... 