Crouching Liza Hidden Groundhog

Just when you think that the only thing to blog about is how hot it's supposed to get outside, nature pitches you a blogpost.

I woke up this morning to the dog barking frenetically and Mr. Sophanne yelling "get the camera!"



A closer look at the invader-



Being the "more like city-folk than anything else" that we are, we first watched the goings on sort of like a nature documentary. Finally it occurred to us (when Liza got too close to the GH and he snarled and surged forward) that someone might get hurt and maybe we better "do something."

Mr. Sophanne said "I'll throw some rocks at it- maybe it will run away." I suggested that it wasn't going to run anywhere lest it be chased by the dog so I managed to get Liza inside.

With dog inside, Mr. S began throwing some rocks. GH was unphased. Seriously, what are a couple of rocks compared to a barking dog-

Then he said "Get the confetti poppers!" (these were left over from his birthday celebration.) Our thinking? Maybe if it sounds like a popping gun shot the groundhog will run.



After wishing the unmoved groundhog a belated "Happy 4th of July," we analyzed the situation. Was it hurt? Was it rabid? Was there blood on Liza's mouth? Are we in danger? What should we do? Thankfully we don't own a gun (yes we are Western PA anomalies).

Mr. Sophanne went to the bedroom to put on his "smack him with a shovel-make sure you've got a good ball cap and long pants on"- outfit.

I made a phone call to my favorite school custodian. I described the goings on and she said that the groundhog thought he was hiding. She essentially gave me the "Little Bo Peep" cure. "Leave him alone and he'll go home, wagging his tail behind him." Which he did. Although if you would ever meet Shirley the custodian you would be more likely to believe that the groundhog overheard what she said and behaved accordingly.