by Miranda Legg

We found that a groundhog made his burrow in the backyard of Mahan Manor. My desk is at the entrance of the manor, where I open the front door for natural light and the gorgeous view of the rolling hills and springhouse.

One day recently, I heard a fast-thumping noise crossing the front porch and saw a flash of brown. Instantly, I thought a dog was running loose and jumped up to help. To my surprise, there was our curious groundhog standing at the edge of the porch, as though he, too, enjoyed the view.

The next moment, he ran away and completely disappeared. I searched but couldn’t find him anywhere. Shortly after sitting back down at my desk, the thumping sound was back. This time, I grabbed my phone and ran to the front door just in time to see him scurry off the other edge of the porch, presumably returning to his den in the backyard.

Two weeks passed without a sighting, though I was on high alert. Suddenly, the thumping returned. There he sat at the edge of the porch enjoying the view. Without startling him, I watched to see what he’d do next, determined not to lose him again.

He dropped out of view. As fast as I could, I ran over, and the only possible hiding spot was a 6” wide black PVC pipe (for an area under construction). I thought, “There’s no way he could fit in there,” but couldn’t see any options. Tapping lightly in the middle of the tube, I jumped when he scratched in reply! Without making a sound, I waited, and five minutes later, he scooched out of the pipe rear first.

Holding my phone with one hand, I had to use my other hand to record, which scared him. He squished his ample body back inside the tube. Finally, he stuck his cute tiny nose out the other end sniffing the air, but didn’t exit. I could hear him scooting backwards the full length of the eight foot pipe, which gave me time to prep my camera to take this video. (He seemed a little nervous, so I decided to leave him alone for the day.)

The groundhog appears to be quite portly, thanks to the large acorn harvest in the backyard. He sits on his haunches with his round white belly showing while he holds the acorns with both paws as he eats. He’s quite entertaining. We leave tomato scraps nearby, in case his tastebuds need a variety.