Spying a Woodchuck

I am risking a pile of irate comments about the evils of woodchucks here. They steal from hard worked gardens, they cause livestock in pastures to break legs. They probably do other bad things, too. But I love them. They are cute. We were driving back from Glover when Eagle-eyed John spied this woodchuck in a Barton River meadow. It was just a size of a leaf to me, but John knew what it was. We stopped and made a bit of noise, John whistled a woodchuck whistle a couple of times, and I got the shots. The critter was still too far away for good shots, but we got his attention.

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Pansies

John and I spent a lot of time and money finding my pansies for this year's garden. We couldn't find any in New Hampshire at all and I thought I'd have to import them from Vermont. But the next weekend, a nursery in New London had hundreds of them. I picked out my favorite colors, we planted them, and sat back to enjoy their beauty.

But the woodchuck enjoyed them first.

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Camera Critters: Missed Shots

Sitting in my waking-up-stupor the other morning, I saw a beaver swimming across the nearest pond. I was so slow getting the camera set up that I saw him do a surface dive into his lodge, shown here, just as I was all set up. He dove for the black spot under the grass, under the thatch behind a dry cattail underneath and to the right of the lodge in this photo. At least I have visual proof that the lodge is inhabited!

I also missed a humming bird and an eastern bluebird this week. Although I captured this white-tailed doe in the dawn's heavy mist, the photo is just awful! I post it anyhow.

I did not take this photo of a woodchuck. It was taken last summer by my grandson, Wingnut. This morning on the way home from church I drove by the same rock formation and the woodchuck was out. It was sunning with all four legs out on both sides, totally relaxed. Until I stopped the car. It ran so quickly that I never saw it leave. Here's to better shots this coming week!

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My other Camera Critters post is about swimming salamanders.

Technorati Tags: white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, beaver lodge, Castor canadensis, woodchuck, Marmota monax
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Camera Critters: Woodchuck

While driving on my bird road, I saw this little woodchuck guy ambling across a meadow. As I stopped, he stopped. I learned that when I moved, he moved. I assume that is a survival tactic. If that which hunts you is still, you should be still so that the hunter cannot see you. But when the hunter moves? Get outta there! I would assume. Woodchucks are one of my favorite animals. I usually have a family living under the barn every spring. One year we had triplets!

Thank you so much for visiting!
To visit more participants,

clickCamera Critters or the graphic above.

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Technorati Tags: woodchuck, Marmota monax, groundhog, whistle pig
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A Bizarre Sight

As I drove on Chamberlin Road today on the other side of Barton Mountain, I saw this dead woodchuck drapped over the Mountain Lane sign. I could see no injuries. It is just there. I hope this is not a female with babies left in a den somewhere. Do not scroll further if the photos may disturb you.

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Technorati Tags: woodchuck, Marmota monax, groundhog, whistle pig
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