A blog about a first-time house owner learning to maintain his backyard, and thoughts about nature, science, history, and life.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Meet "Bill"


Sorry, you can't actually meet Bill in this post.  I don't have a picture of him, because he scampers away every time he sees me.  He's a flighty little fella.  But today's as good a day as any - well, really, a better day than any other - to introduce you to Bill.  Bill is a groundhog, and he seems to spend quite a bit of time on my property.  One of his hideouts is under my shed, and I've seen him in the garden a couple of times.  He's done some digging in the garden, but I have no idea what he's found (or hidden) there.


I think Bill is spending the winter on my property as well.  Groundhogs hibernate during the winter, according to Wikipedia, which would explain why I haven't seen Bill in a few months, and why he probably didn't emerge from his burrow this morning to check whether he could see his shadow.  It was a partly cloudy, partly sunny morning, so if Freeville Bill had emerged, and if the remainder of winter were predicated on whether he saw his shadow or not, it would be a toss-up.


Why did I name him Bill?  Well, that one's pretty easy.  My parents had a groundhog that lived under their deck and tore up their yard.  They named him Bob.  So picking a name starting with a B was pretty straightforward.  But I went with Bill because I have an uncle with that name.  Uncle Bill happened to be born on Groundhog Day.  And if I do say so myself, with his round face and moustache, Uncle Bill bears some resemblance to a groundhog as well.  So it was only natural to name him Bill.

Happy Groundhog Day!


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