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Momma woodchuck has four children this year, and they’re keeping her busy.
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Like any overworked mother, there are days when she just needs a break.
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Times when she wants to ditch the kids who hound her and follow her everywhere she goes.
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On those days?
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She just has to climb a tree.
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Didn’t think woodchucks climbed trees?
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Beleaguered mothers do.
😉
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We have visiting raccoons in the backyard.
The raccoons attempt to drink from our birdbath but can’t always stretch far enough to make that work.
So along with their food, I put out a pan of water last night.
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To which the raccoon didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention.
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At one point he practically sat in it, but wouldn’t drink.
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Enter a baby woodchuck.
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The raccoon is three times as big, but was terrified of the little chucker.
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And when baby made a mad dash for food, the raccoon startled… banging into the pan, spraying water over them both.
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That sent baby chucker back to the shed….
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And made the raccoon realize what the pan was for.
😉
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I had a feeling there were baby woodchucks under our barn… and the other day?
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Momma brought one to the buffet.
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An average litter is four, sometimes she has five..
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But there always seems to be one brave little scamper who ventures out first.
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This little guy showed up for carrots by himself yesterday.
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But he doesn’t quite have the standing up/balancing thing under control yet.
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Watch the clip until the end.
🤣
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I know it’s not polite to remark on another woman’s weight gain.
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But our resident Mother Chucker is looking quite…
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Round.
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How she gets that big eating salad all day is beyond me.
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😊
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Well…
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Not technically.
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My husband won’t let me.
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🤣
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Cupboards are boring.
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I would.
I really would…
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Beer plus Girl Scout cookies?
I’m in.
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And speaking of beer, we dropped into a new small batch brewery to try a flight recently.
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The beer was quite good. Traditional German style Pilsners, dunkels and gose. Veteran owned and run, so you know my husband found someone to talk to… which made us late for our dinner reservation.
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Our first chuck of the season lost a little fur during hibernation.
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In an odd circular patch.
I was a bit worried…
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But it seems to be growing back nicely.
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I saw this on FB the other day and had to chuckle.
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Then I saw this answer and positively snorted.
JD gets makeup tips from raccoons.
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Yes, my pickle algorithm is alive and well.
Sigh.
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Look who’s back!
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I spotted our first woodchuck yesterday.
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And immediately tossed out some lettuce and broccoli to welcome the little guy back.
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I’m saying little guy but it might be a girl. I only know it doesn’t look like our old momma chuck of years past.
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She’s been around for a long time and sadly, I think it’s time for the next generation to take over.
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My husband needed something in the little storage room at the back of our garage the other day.
We rarely use it, but the woodchucks certainly do.
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It was all he could do to open the door…
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And even that required a shovel.
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From one little access point, they sure did make a mess.
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Once things were removed we found this:
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Tiny shredded strips of a tarp that used to be whole.
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An entire morning was spent putting things right.
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And not without my husband spouting a few choice words for our furry little digging friends.
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🥴
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten heard something in the woodchuck burrow .
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten investigated.
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On the other end of the woodchuck burrow?
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A woodchuck.
Lord Dudley Mountcatten switched sides and waited on that end.
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Which meant a woodchuck popped up on the first side.
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So His Lordship switched sides again and waited.
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And finally, after Lord Dudley’s servant was tired of standing in the heat and about to drag him back in the house….
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Interspecies communication.
Disclaimer – no woodchucks (or cats!) were harmed in the making of this blog.
😊
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This is Lord Dudley Mountcatten surveying his domain.
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Here’s Lord Dudley Mountcatten noticing an interloper in his domain.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten’s reaction was priceless.
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After some closer inspection?
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And a positive baby woodchuck identification…
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was clueless.
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And looked back at me as if to say, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
🤣
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River's world..... 