My dad used to call them "Whistle Pigs". When we'd go on drives out in the country, we'd sometimes stop along the side of the road and see groundhogs standing up in the field on their hind legs and looking around. Sometimes they make a whistling sound. My dad used to whistle at them and they'd whistle back. What a funny memory.
I never heard much about Groundhog Day growing up, but always thought groundhogs were so cute. Now I live close to the home of Punxsutawney Phil....the famous PA groundhog who looks for his shadow every year to decide whether we'll have an early Spring or longer Winter. Have you ever seen the movie "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray? Well, the real celebration is such a big deal...just like in the movie.
Groundhogs can be somewhat of a pest in your garden. They like to munch on some of the veggies. They're so chubby and so darn cute, though! I've heard of people having them as pets, but they can be ferocious if encountered in the wild. :)
I thought that a gopher and a groundhog were one and the same, but they really are different. A gopher is a small burrowing rodent, while the groundhog is a bigger animal. Groundhogs are also known as Woodchucks.
3 comments:
Thanks for the comment I linked back here today! I knew one of my blog friends from another country would say "what is gh day???"
I love this memory of yours! I will think of them as Whistle Pigs from now on!!!
Groundhogs can be very damaging, not only to gardens, but also to building foundations. Bob's dad has always fought with the groundhogs that make holes in yard, which makes for tricky mowing. I will have to tell you about a few of Bob's father's battles with the groundhogs, sometime.
Whistle Pig is a much better name than groundhog.
Someday I hope to go to Punxsutawney for the celebration. We talked about doing it many years ago as a joke, but really there is nothing else to do in February.
all I know is that Groundhog Day is a bunch of bunk!
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