Critters

 We have a healthy assortment of critters around these parts. Two are domesticated, most are the wild sort, and a few wild ones have shown up dead in the yard. Spring must have really sprung at our house because we saw a baby deer, baby birds, and now we've seen a couple of babies that we are not so excited about, baby groundhogs. Since I was young, I remember my dad shooting groundhogs in the field to the east of our home. He told me that groundhogs were bad because they dig holes in the ground and cows step in the holes and break their legs. So from little on, groundhogs were bad.

We first discovered the baby groundhogs on Sunday. They kept trying to run from the barn to the other side of the road. Bo saw them and ran out to his invisible boundary line, barking ferociously. At that, the groundhogs would turn around and barrel back to the barn. This happened over and over again. It was kind of entertaining.

See the little guy on the road? He was so close to successfully making it to the other side! If he only knew that Bo dare not take one more step or he'd be turning his own self around, tail tucked, running for the house.

Further inspection yielded this bigger guy.
 

I have yet to explore the barn, but I got real brave and peeked inside. This guy must've been keeping watch. Last one, I promise; four groundhog pics in a row is quite enough.

When Kb got home and was available for moral support, I mustered my courage and got close enough to that hole to throw a couple of sticks of gum inside. Somebody told me that groundhogs can't digest gum so it kills them. I guess we'll see. I need to come up with a trick for the opossums. They lurk around outside the barn in the mornings, and they are just darn ugly.

In other critter related news, to my excitement, we got a hand-me-down bird feeder this week.

Two days ago, it was full of bird seed. I promise. The birds must think that they deserve a line item in our budget.

Um no. I enjoy watching the birds, and we even strategically placed the feeder so that I can see it from "my spot" in the living room. But we may have to rethink this whole bird feeding idea.

My mom's quick response: "Somebirdy's hungry!"