Posts Tagged ‘groundhog’
groundhog burrow
On my walk in the snowy grey woods, I checked on the burrows of the Groundhog (Marmota monax) near our picnic table. I have read about the winter habits of the Groundhog and I know he enters true hibernation this time of year. He does not wake through the winter to feed. For this reason, I was not surprised to find the snow around the main entrance untouched by any tracks leading to or from the burrow. The snow has buried the other burrow entrances. Sleep well, Groundhog family!
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hibernation
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groundhog excavates
beneath the fir, a meter cubed of dug
and snug and sifted dirt, disturbed
observes from veiled backdoor
under fibred curtain, dangled root
twisted tunnel, tilted floor
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eats well and sleeps but
wakes, stumbles down his bleary halls
for green but white still sifts between
the burrow walls, tells his mate shove over
settles back to hibernate
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~
© Jane Tims 2011
pitfalls
If the space you occupy, your niche, has benefits to nourish, lift and sustain you, it also has its pitfalls, its dangers. Animals know this and their adaptations to their habitat are as much about avoiding danger as they are about obtaining food or shelter.
Think about the Groundhog family in the grey woods behind our house (see post ‘the location of our picnic table‘ August 20,2011, category ‘wild life’). The Groundhog’s tunnels are designed to provide shelter and food storage, but they are also designed for checking out the enemy and for quick escape.
Like the Groundhog, I try to prepare for the pitfalls. I have an emergency kit, including water and a flashlight, ready for severe storms, unexpected floods, and power outages. In spite of this, when our basement was flooded last December, I found I was poorly prepared and all I could do was concentrate on the small steps toward return to normalcy.
The path through the grey woods has its own pitfalls. When I go for walks I have to beware of fallen trees…
roots ready to grab an ankle…
branches reaching to poke an eye…
and the risks of not looking around, and missing something special and ephemeral…
pitfalls
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soft places in the earth
hollows in the leaf layer
deadfalls to snag the surest ankle
roots that reach for the body
and chasms to claim it
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gaps in the greyness of pine
spaces to spill sunlight
admit the riot of leaves
and the keys of the maple
~
holes in the layer of cloud
snags in the curtain
knots in floorboards
eyes in the blackness of night
~
flaws in the fabric
seams to part and peer through
paths we have crossed before
in other ways
~
© Jane Tims 2005
'red mushroom'
the location of our picnic table
Back in our grey woods is a place we don’t visit regularly any more. Our picnic table is there, in a mossy area among mature spruce and fir, at the top of a slope. It overlooks a wet spot in the woods. In the spring the wet area becomes an ephemeral stream, and a series of vernal pools among the mosses and ferns.
down-slope of the picnic table is a ferny area with an ephemeral stream... the dark areas in the photo are pools of water
Once, almost 28 years ago, the space was perfect for our new picnic table. The table was given to my newborn son by his Great-Aunt Jane and we took considerable care in choosing its location.
our picnic table in the woods
In years past, we took a picnic lunch there regularly. Sometimes I went there to write.
Today I pass the table when I follow the path through the woods, but I haven’t stopped to eat a picnic there in years. Another family has taken over, probably of Groundhogs (Marmota monax). They have built a labyrinth of burrows among the tree roots in the soft soil of the slope. Where each burrow exits is a mound, the remains of deep-earth excavation. One of the six burrow openings is larger than the others. My reading tells me this complex of burrows and exits provides quick escape from predators, a place to store food, and a place to hibernate.
the main entrance to the burrows, under the roots of a fir
Once this place was the ideal location for our new picnic table and our family picnics. Now the same site is perfect habitat for the Groundhog family.
concerning the location
of our new picnic table
~
share a meal with the unknown
to make it your friend
~
we find a clearing
near the path
where the sun will shine at noon
where we will not have to cut the trees
where the neighbours’ voices
and the passing cars
are quiet
~
we load the picnic table
into the cart
haul it through the woods
behind the Yamaha
~
we eat peanut butter sandwiches
and applesauce
drink cola
and sunshine
~
we laugh
make friends with the woods
and with each other
~
© Jane Tims 1983
