I live in Philly. Which is a big city. And though I don’t live in a nothing-but-concrete neighborhood, it’s pretty damn urban – my street is all rowhouses and twins, with porches up to the sidewalk, and all the street trees growing out of holes created in the concrete. My own house is on a lot-and-a-half, so I’ve got a long, narrow side yard, and a back yard that’s abobout 40’ x 40’ – and this is where I garden. Enthusiastically. When I won a bunch of money on “Jeopardy!” ten years ago, the bulk of it went to taxes, retirement, paying off bills – but the big splurge was on having my side yard redone, steps done to the back yard, a slate walk put in, etc. It’s a pretty nice garden.
But it’s definitely a city garden. Wildlife consists of the neighborhood cats, who love to come by and visit my cat, Elvis; lots of squirrels. I saw a possum once, and you’ll occasionally see a raccoon. Birds: mourning doves, pigeons, and sparrows out the wazoo – catbirds nest in the crape myrtle, cardinals visit regularly, I’ve seen goldfinches eating the echinacea’s seedheads in the fall – and I’ve seen hummingbirds more than once.
And tonight, when I went to open the back door after getting home from work – there was a groundhog sitting next to the foxgloves.
A groundhog!?!?!?! Where the hell did a groundhog come from?
Wow, how weird! Was it cute, though? I’ve always thought groundhogs were cuter than most other rodenty types somehow.
So I went a-googlin out of curiousity, cuz how common could city-type groundhogs be anyway right, and it looks like they’re pretty well urbanized. Apparently they go unnoticed a lot because they’re crepuscular.
So then I went a-googling crepuscular, cuz it sounds like what happens when body-builders get really old and wrinkly, but it’s not, nope it’s really not.
Zoology. Becoming active at twilight or before sunrise, as do bats and certain insects and birds.*
Crepuscular, crepuscular, crepuscular, I love my shiny new word! Thanks, Twicks!
Listen, except for your exceptional brain and thus your winnings on Jeopardy, you and I have a lot in common. I, too, live in a very urban area…just outside of Boston proper. (Really only about a block from Boston proper.)
Last week I was sitting in my postage stamp back yard soaking up some rays against my better judgement. There are a few issues here. There’s fear of wrinkles and skin cancer and also terror that the college aged neighbors might see me in something that shows my ankles and elbows.
Anyhow, I braved it anyway. And I heard a weird rustling in the shrubbery. I waited and out came a big, fat ground hog. He looked at me and I looked at him. He retreated. But soon, the rustling came again. He was clearly trying to get across our yard and into the next one. I told him to go ahead and he waddled over, presumably in search of his girlfriend.
I say this because upon doing a little research, I found out that this is, in fact, ground hog mating season. So if you’re going to see them, it’s going to be NOW while theyr’e after a little nookie. Give them a break and let them have their fun!
The way twickster titled her thread made me think:
You ain’t nothin’ but a groundhog
diggin’ all the time
you ain’t nothin’ but a groundhog
diggin’ all the time
well, I don’t know where you come from
and you ain’t no friend of mine
… *baby. Two loked out groundhogs going crazy. Twickster’s porch is place that feeds me. Unfeedable, but please don’t try to phase this. Now back to the lecture… *
…I’ll leave now.
Ya knowwhadi like about chu ChoooooosyChipyCielingMaBobber-- Ya got character. And, lemme tellya somthing, that’s hard to find ina ChippyCielingChooser nowadayz.
I live in the city, and I see deer all the time. They come out of a scrubby patch of trees and brush at the edge of the parking lot, nibble the bushes, then go back into the ‘woods.’
They often look emaciated, unhealthy, and generally like they’re not having a terribly rewarding life.
I love groundhogs. There’s a community college in my city that has some ground, and is home to a rather extensive collection of groundhog families. I drive by the college and park sometimes in the evenings just to watch the groundhogs get out and about. A few years ago, we were driving past, and saw a mom ground hog with four of her babies, and all were getting pretty close to the major intersection where the college sits. HallGirl 1 jumped out of the car (after I’d pulled off the street), and chased the babies back away from the street, clapping her hands and shooing them.
This past year, I got a house bunny (Val) who is a lop eared (her ears hang down, instead of sitting upright). With her brown coloring, she looks like a groundhog. Shortly after we got her, Hallboy and I were driving through a small town and passed a field. “Mom, look there’s a rabbit!” he said. Taking a closer look, he then said, “Nah, it’s a groundhog.” And, it did look just like our bunny.
