Beastie's

God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear,To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here.

~Robert Browning~

I have a new beastie in my yard. It's a Groundhog, aka Woodchuck, aka Whistlepig......yes Whistlepig.....who knew?

So on top of the squirrels, mice, birds, raccoons, possums, (stray cats) and the occasional skunk, we now have a Groundhog. We didn't mow our lawn for a while (we've had lots of rain in Illinois ; ) and so we had some clover growing. Groundhogs like clover. I was looking into my backyard a week or so ago, and there he was, munching on the clover in my un-mowed backyard.

Here he is....isn't he cute?

Not a great picture, we had to take it through the window because every time we opened the door he ran away. But you get the idea.

I am still amazed at how much wildlife I have around here. I live in town, just a few streets away from a major roadway. It is an established neighborhood, our house is over 50 years old. I'm happy that I can still provide a bit of an oasis to my little beastie friends. They are slowly running out of places to live. I think they've been spreading the word that my yard is the place to be.

Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account?

~Jean Paul Richter~