Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Groundhog Young Uns

As I was driving down the road yesterday, a scurry of movement below the big barn caught my eye.
Four  Three bold young groundhogs, venturing out to take the air.

The lush green grass is calling...
One cautious sibling stays behind.

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19 comments:

Victoria said...

Cute pictures!

Unknown said...

Oh how amazing Vicki. We use the term Groung Hog Day and haven't a clue what it is all about really. They are so cute. Thank you too for the invitation. Who knows! Maybe one day... how amazing it would be.

Desiree said...

I wondered what a ground hog looked like! They seem so similar to our dassies (rock rabbit). They do not resemble hogs at all!

AM said...

especially love the last pic. wonderfully captured :)

Merisi said...

They are so sweet! :-)

Once upon a time I had a groundhog friend .... ;-) I miss him.

Jean Baardsen said...

Adorable! I wouldn't have known what they were.

Tipper said...

Adorable. We have an on going joke about a few that live along our road. They are all named Bob.

Deanna said...

They are a bit late for Ground Hog Day! The shy one looks like he is playing peek-a-boo with you.

Miss_Yves said...

Great pics, especially the last one, which is very cute!

Tammy said...

What a rare treat! Seeing baby groundhogs is surely unusual. Love the little 'cautious' one. Sounds like your party was great as usual. We had rain, rain, rain here over the weekend.
Tammy

Vicki Lane said...

Up north the same creature is called a woodchuck. They can lay waste to a garden so I'll hope these babies steer clear of mine once it's up.

I expect that the hog part of the name is because they're pretty fat.

There's been a groundhog in residence under that barn as long as we've been here but this was the first time I've caught a glimpse of babies.

Stella Jones said...

Oh !! I love those groundhogs. We don't have them in England but I saw a few while I was in Tennessee. They can be quite bold, can't they? even appearing on the side of the road. The first one I saw was when Larry and I were at the traffic lights and there on the side was a groundhog, only I didn't know what it was. Love your pictures, just gorgeous.

jennyfreckles said...

So that's what a groundhog is... Rather cute really, not at all what I expected (more a wild boar I thought!)
Words are so fascinating...You asked about cottages. Here we tend to use the term for any modestly sized but old dwelling, not necessarily detached, though the quintessential English thatched cottage would usually be detached.

Martin said...

Charming pictures.

Reader Wil said...

So that's a ground hog! Very wonderful!

Reader Wil said...

So that's a ground hog! Very wonderful!

Friko said...

Still don't know what a groundhog is, but they are certainly sweet looking.

Vicki Lane said...

Friko -- Wikipedia says:

The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska, with their habitat extending southeast to Alabama.

Vicki says: They eat grass and weeds and gardens.

Folkways Note Book said...

Vicki -- Loved the shots of the groundhogs. I know so many farmers and gardeners do not like them but they are part of this wonderful world of life. -- barbara