Groundhog, woodchuck, and pasture poodle are only a few of the common names these little critters are known by. How people view them varies with their experience. Many folks see them as pest. Having a family of groundhogs living near ones garden is a sure recipe for disaster. Farmers hold the little critters in low esteem because of damage created by their burrowing. The mound of dirt at the entrance to their den has been known to flip more than one tractor while farming steep ground. Farmers in the past were always mindful of how easily a horse’s leg could be broken from stepping into a hole. I can think of no one who really likes woodchucks outside of those whose passion is hunting and then this love quickly turns deadly for the chuck.
This chuck and his extended family recently took up residence under some buildings on our family farm. Large holes dug into the dirt floors of the machine sheds and around the building foundations guaranteed that I would perceive their presence a problem. An evening with the .22 was all it took to begin to regain control.
9 comments:
He looks harmless enough.. cute even. I guess a horses broken leg or a flipped tractor would make them quite unpopular though. I don't think we have them here.. lots of gophers though.
I'm surprised you didn't use Photoshop to put "R.I.P. 2007" on the photo somewhere :)
PS: You didn't put my Dad's name for these guys - whistle pigs!
All I know is that this is one animal that both you and Mom have offed on more than one occasion ;)
At least these guys didn't go for a spin on the road.
Poor Ground Hog Bob.
Yes, most of my kin left West Virginia for Ohio and now they are all gone. The only one in my mother's family who was still alive had moved back to West Virginia and bought a small farm. He died there this past year.
Our relatives are named Ballengee, Richmond, Meadows, Sears and Bragg and if you know Hinton or Summers County then you surely know those names. My grandpa Ballengee spent a lot of time in prison for making and selling moonshine or white lightening. It was hard times on Ramp Road on Elk Knob, Mountain.
Thanks for visiting.
I hate to kill anything anymore. I used to eat a groundhog during the Second World War. Mom was starved for meat and that was handy.
Thanks again.
We have a few on the property we live on. I've never seen them...but I've seen their mounds of dirt they create. There haven't been many holes...we have to watch for the holes with the horses out there.
RIP...little ground hog...LOL
So that's what a woodchuck looks like!
Congratulations on a successful raid. :-)
sing with me..."how much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck would chuck a peice of wood".....alright...3 more tims faster!!!
Gabby,
LOL!! When I was a youngun I would try to repeat a minor variation of that poem as fast as possible until it didn’t come out right! “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood”. Sorry to say I have never seen a woodchuck chucking wood :).
Lucy,
Thanks, and yes it was a successful raid! There are still some left but their keeping their heads down for now.
Chad,
I was expecting the Groundhog Bob ref.
Ash,
No RIP on this one. He kept himself sheltered under the corncrib with a tractor directly behind him. To risky for a shot with the .22 so he got it with the Canon.
Faye,
Yep, looks harmless but their burrowing habits make them a real problem around buildings and in fields. I don’t have a problem with them as long as they keep their holes in the fence rows.
Abe,
Thanks for your comment, interesting that your grandpa was a moonshiner, I’m sure it was hard times back then.
Well they may be pesty and I am sure they are...... but they are kind a cute!!! :) :) We don't have any of them here but we do have mongoose!! Not quite the same LOL LOL :)
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