Last week, I was a little harsh on that little rodent from Pennsylvania that looks for his shadow every year.
But did you know that Phil has a famous relative in Ontario, Canada, and another one just outside Atlanta?
Yup, Wiarton Willy has predicted the weather for our northern neighbors for nearly 22 years and his cousin General Beauregard Lee does a fine job for the southern folks in the Georgia area.
The groundhog is actually part of the ground-squirrel family and is closely related to the marmot and prairie dog. He gets the name woodchuck from the Algonquin Indians. This delicious animal, which they called wuchak, was an integral part of their diet.
The woodchuck is a true hibernator. With its short, strong legs and sharp, curved claws, it digs dens deep into the ground to raise its young and sleep through the winter.
I grew up on the family farm hunting woodchucks. They made for great shooting practice and taught me how to sneak up on my prey. I found out quite early in life that these fat rodents can be rather aggressive if cornered.
When I was about 8 years old, my grandfather bought me a bow and arrow at Bill's Sport Shop in Oneonta. Yeah, we were allowed to play with sharp weapons back then. Anyway, I knew where every group of woodchuck holes could be found in our grassy meadows and short-cropped pastures.
One day, my adventures took me up the hill and into the field below the cow lane. As I slowly eased along, I suddenly saw the brownish-gray, frosted back of a woodchuck munching on grass not far ahead. I quietly closed the gap.
The groundhog was unaware of my presence as I moved in for the kill. I slowly raised my bow and pulled back on the string. Then, the woodchuck turned and ran right at me.
I missed the charging critter with a wide shot before I realized he wasn't after me. I was between him and his hole. So, I threw my bow at him and jumped out of the way as the little fellow made it to the safety of his den.
Over the years, we shot hundreds of woodchucks on the farm. There was always a steady supply until the coyote came along. When the coyote moved in, groundhogs became scarce. Dens that had produced young every year were vacant. They were an easy meal for the new predator on the block.
I've watched coyotes lay a few feet from a woodchuck's hole and wait for the rodent to emerge. With a quick pounce, the game was over and the coyote had his belly full once more.
My dad always liked to hunt woodchucks, but it got to the point where he would walk up the hill day after day and never fire a shot. The woodchucks were gone. A few returned last summer, but that won't last long.
I was mowing around my pond one day and watched a coyote cross the meadow carrying a chuck in her mouth. She disappeared over the bank, probably carrying it to her den. I also saw her hunting for mice and moles in the mowed grass near the woods. Another time, she was out with her two pups, which will carry on the tradition and diminish the woodchuck numbers once more.
The woodchuck is a farmland tradition, but kids today may never know how much wood a woodchuck can chuck.
Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at robrockway@hotmail.com.
