mr groundhog, where are you?

groundhog day is tomorrow. are you ready?

the boy's class is having a party. he is bringing in yogurt raisins to share.

the strange thing is, i haven't seen a groundhog (gopher, marmot, whistle-pig, take your pick) in two years, since we moved in from the woods. back in the day, it was my favorite of all critter sightings.

i have blogged about it on more than one occasion.

but alas, in town, you don't just see a groundhog standing around looking at stuff, sniffing the air, as they are known to do. maybe chattering to his mates. or nibbling some grass.

it's kind of sad, really.

tell me, when was the last time you saw a groundhog?

ground hogs, etc.

happy groundhog day! i did not take this picture, but isn't he a gorgeous beast?

this morning it was cloudy in nashville, so i'm going to assume that means spring is on the way. yes? yes.

when we lived in the country, we saw groundhogs fairly often and it was always a joyous affair.

we could never get very close to one, due to their extreme sense of hearing. the moment they heard me reach for my camera, they'd skeedaddle.

so the images i captured were usually blurry and of the low quality you see here.

but in our little family, we always considered it a good day when we saw a groundhog.

a good day indeed.

now that we're in the city, we don't see them at all. it's kind of sad, really.

last year the boy made this.

this year he made this.

notice the groundhogs coming up up up out of their holes.

and the squirrels above them, pelting them with acorns.

have a happy happy day!

no sex please, we're groundhogs

seeing a groundhog (also known as a woodchuck) always puts me in a happy mood.

and so, naturally, it was pretty exciting to find this vintage children's book at goodwill for a mere 99 cents.

we were thrilled - until we got home and started reading, that is.

not only is there some mating going on (and no, i'm not ready to talk to the boy about that), but two of the baby groundhogs get killed.

killed!

yeah, not good.

if you want a book to commemorate groundhogs everywhere on this auspicious day, i suggest "groundhog gets his say," by pamela curtis swallow.

it's cute and educational,and nobody gets hurt.

or mates.

happy groundhog day! and please brake for groundhogs.