Quite a bit of life in our yard these days, and I am not referring to the children-though that is an obvious truth!
The other day Dutchess cornered this little creature. She was so proud of herself and was hovering over it for ages. Finally, I tied her up to let the poor thing get away. (I did that ONLY because I don't have a garden planted! hehehe)
I've never been THIS up close to such a large rodent. Rodent is a big, mean, UGLY word-but up close they are kinda-sorta cute.
Here is the proud Hunter. We should call her Huntress instead of Dutchess.
So here is my question to you all. I grew up calling these things Groundhogs. That is what they were, until I met Matt. Then, for two years straight he would lecture me every time the word GROUNDHOG escaped my lips saying something like "Those are NOT groundhogs. Groundhogs live in the South. These are WOODCHUCKS. Everyone around HERE calls them woodchucks!" Going on to explain how heinous it was to call them such an ignorant name, yada yada yada.
Finally, two years later, he broke my will and trained me to call them Woodchucks. But, when I was talking about Woodchucks to a friend, do you know what they said to me...
"You can tell you aren't from around here-because they are GROUNDHOGS, not woodchucks."
Ah HA! So I was right all along (am I that surprised?!?)
Truth be told: Groundhog and Woodchuck just different names for the very same creature. But doesn't groundhog just makes more sense? After all, they are little piggies. But they don't chuck wood.
That said, I think I am going to just keep on calling them woodchucks. Why? Because, frankly, that word is just more fun to say.
What do YOU call them?
People here call them by both names. After all, PA is where you get "Groundhog Day", you know, good 'ol Phil the Groundhog? How does Matt explain that one?? :P Punxatawny isn't that much farther south that up here!
ReplyDeleteWoodchuck is fun to say, though! Plus, you have that whole rhyme: "How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood!" :D
ALL of your photos today are fabulous! We,, I'm from PA, and we ALWAYS said groundhog. Sorry Matt.
ReplyDeleteIn upstate NY where I grew up, they were called woodchucks. Besides, how can you say, "How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" LOL!!! It doesn't work with groundhog.
ReplyDeleteThe real question is....how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? ;0)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize they were the same critter!
~Kelli
Kelli,
ReplyDeleteA woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood! LOL!
It's amazing how cute they are, but they can be nasty little critters and quite a nuisance! I've called them both myself.
ReplyDeleteDitto to Michelle!!
ReplyDeleteI call them 'what on earth is that?' because I've never seen one up close. I don't think we have them here on Long Island.
ReplyDeleteActually, I guess I'd say groundhog, too. But I can do that "how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood" thing really well. And the answer:
A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood!"
In northen NY, where I come from, these are definitely woodchucks... but I do know they are both the same critter, just go by a different name depending on where you hail from.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby's favorite name for them (woodchucks/groundhogs) is "whistle pigs"!!! :D
ReplyDeleteMy husband calls them "whistle pigs" too!! Here in western PA, I have always heard them called groundhogs.
ReplyDeleteKimberly
In our part of Canada,we call 'em groundhogs too. My husband grew up on a dairy farm and it was their dog's job to kill them as they were dangerous to the cattle. Actually, their holes were dangerous. A cow could step in one and break her leg. They didn't want that happening as their milk quota would go down.
ReplyDeleteI'd actually never thought about groundhog and woodchuck being the same thing. I know they hog ground , but can they chuck wood? :o)
This has been so fun! Thanks for all the participation in our little 'disagreement'. I must say, Whistle Pigs sound best of all-I have never heard of that before.
ReplyDeleteSo tell me...does anyone know what a GOPHER is? Are they the same?
Here you go, Rebecca. It's about 1/2 way down the page.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wonderquest.com/day-night-orange-sky-groundhog-gopher.htm
Terri-you are on the ball! Spot on!
ReplyDeleteWoodchuck.
ReplyDeletePlease.