Thursday, August 27, 2009

Summer Update

Summer is winding down and for the most part we have kept busy with non-house related activities. One of those activities was hanging a hammock in our back yard. It has been quite peaceful to sit out there and read. So peaceful and quiet, that the wildlife which surrounds the house can be totally unaware that someone is suspended in a hammock 5 feet away. Take this groundhog for instance.
He wandered UNDER the hammock and around the yard one night in June. Amazed, I snapped this picture and quietly called Mary on my cell phone and told her about the groundhog in the back yard. Which turned out to be a bad idea: y'see, Mary came to check it out. And where Mary goes, so goes Bogart, our dog. Mary grabbed the screen door handle to prevent Bogart from going into the yard... but he's 70+ lbs, and the screen door is pretty flexible. So BANG! Bogart is out the back door and chasing the groundhog as it desperately runs to the back gate.

So, how thin do you think groundhogs can compress their bodies to get under a fence gate? You'd be amazed. There might be 3 inches of clearance under our gate, and after I grab Bogart so the groundhog doesn't hurt him (Bogart's big, but not tough!), the groundhog flattens himself and squeezes under the fence. I couldn't believe it.

Anyway, just thought I'd keep everyone informed about the wild animal adventures at our new home.

3 comments:

Fine Family said...

groundhog? what groundhog. I see a round grey thing. Is that what you mean?

Unknown said...

I love summer time. It's so relaxing to go out in the backyard and just sit and read.
And the wildlife is great :-) Its really amazing how flexible some of them are.

The Martineaus said...

Yep. The groundhog is the round grey thing just past the hose!