All Creatures Great and Small

[Moderator]

Dear Watchers of Birds and Bees and Other Beasties -

Well, here we are finally settled into our new habitats!

Please post here all your wild critter photos.

Don't have any? Well then feel free to enjoy ours.

Best,
Dirk

[Vidaliadar]

I'm a new member sneaking in on this discussion I've had three dogs, Scamp, Princess and Honey, I had an Oscar fish named Lonzo and a lot of Mollie fish with names like Mister/Miss Mollie. I don't have any pets now, but I look after alot of squirrels and a few deer now and then.

[pattie anne]

he's back! and this TIME we got pictures. enjoy!

herman the ground hog lives under our old house:


hullo world!

and he comes out to frolic and dine:


SNIF-SNIF oh, roots!

[Moderator]

Dear Pattie Anne -

Thank you for sharing. Now I begin to understand why people choose to live in the country.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately."
Thoreau

Cute little critter. Did you get any others?

Best,
Dirk

[pattie anne]

dear dirk -

yes, i did as a matter of fact. but try to keep within the rules of this place, so am only putting up TWO pics at a TIME.

ground hogs are vegans!:


ohhh, greens!

but like us, they do have their favourites:


tomato greens are the best!

love,
pattie anne

[biddenden_sue]

Is a groundhog literally like our hedgehogs? Or are they quite different?

Our hedgehogs have cute little faces with long snouts, and prickly spines all over their back. If they feel threatened, they roll up into a spiny ball - brilliant self-preservation!

Those pictures look remarkably similar.

[tracy]

hy pattie love the new lodger dont forget to tell it how much the rent is for living under the house ha .he is cute

[pattie anne]

dear sue -

no, not the same creature at all. see photo below:


Mr Groundhog VS Mr Hedgehog

and then i found this very interesting article.

Quoted from Hedgehog Central:

While we all look forward to Groundhog Day on February 2nd and the forecast for an early spring from the two greatest weatherhogs on the planet - Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, Ontario and Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the truth behind this 200 year-old tradition is oftentimes forgotten.

Long before the advent of Groundhog Day on February 2nd, the Romans observed a similar event thousands of years ago on the exact same day. Rather than use the North American groundhog, the Romans used the hedgehog.

“If during hibernation, he (the hedgehog) looks out of his den on 2nd February and sees his shadow it means there is a clear moon and six more weeks of winter so he returns to his burrow.”

The only difference between this ancient event and the present day version (aside from the hedgehog, of course) is the fact that the Romans would look to see if the hedgehog saw its shadow under a clear moon at night.

Here in North America, where we have no indigenous species of hedgehog, we replaced the hedgehog with the native groundhog. To this day “Punxsutawney Phil” and “Wiarton Willie” battle it out to see who is the better weather forecaster, but little do they or their handlers know that the original prognosticator of spring was a hedgehog.

love,
pattie anne


the first good whiff of summer.


stalking the wild ozark greens.

[donnarose]

Very nice pics of your "lodger," Patti Anne.

We have quite a few where we are as well. Remember, the world (at least the Eastern Seaboard) waits with bated breath every February to see whether or not Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow to determine if there will be 6 more weeks of winter.

He's not the only one in the area though--there are many clubs which have their own "local" groundhog celebrities, just not Phil and Willie.

The parties are wonderful, even if they are a bit "nippy" to attend.

[mikotyk]

Punxsutawney Phil is a big deal here in Pennsylvania. I can't remember when the tradition started, but it's funny to see TV camera crews huddling over this hole in the ground waiting to see if this small, furry animal is going to poke his head out and see his shadow or not. Although, with all those camera lights around him, I'm not surprised that "Phil" doesn't see his shadow more often! These are nice photographs. Groundhogs are rare during the day and usually don't like to be seen.