Re: Stuff in the yard

[Amalie Lewis Tuffin <amaliet@ix.netcom.com>]

I have seen groundhogs several times this season at Mason Farm in Chapel Hill.

Amalie Tuffin
Durham, NC

JoAnne Stokes wrote:

> On the Dix campus in Raleigh last Tuesday, I was shocked to see a groundhog
> standing on hind legs just outside the entrance door to the building where I
> work just off Lake Wheeler Rd..  He was right where there is a good bit of
> pedestrian traffic throughout the day and the parking lot is there as well.
> As I watched him in disbelief (I'd never seen one before in the wild) he
> slowly slinked back toward the side of the building (hoping to become less
> visible, I guess) and then he crossed the road in front of me as I started
> to drive away.  Again I watched for a while as he headed toward the large,
> open grassy area where there are very old trees.  I did some research on the
> Internet and it indicated that Raleigh/Durham is not within the range where
> they are commonly found but rather there presence is spotty just outside
> that range.  I also deduced from the research that the habitat on the Dix
> campus would be perfect for groundhogs although I can't imagine where they
> would find vegetables to eat (unless they regularly visit the Farmer's
> Market which is nearby).
>
> Clyde Sorenson wrote:
>
> > All,
> >
> > You don't have to go far to find  alot of neat things. This weekend, we
> > discovered a borwn thrasher nest in the akebia vine on my pergola, a
> > catbird nest in blackberry brambles on the other side of my 1.5 acre
> > property, deer tracks within 10 feet of th dog kennels (that must be why
> > the mutts raised sand Saturday night), and a lace-winged road-side
> > skipper on the jasmine vine on the front porch. The kingfishers are
> > still hanging out on the pond, and I had a truely spectacular, metallic
> > green, red and yellow wood boring beetle (Buprestis rufipes, I think)
> > fly into the side of my head as I cleaned the gutters saturday. To top
> > it off, my daughter and I saw a groundhog about  a mile away on Covered
> > Bridge road outside Clayton a couple hundred yards from where it crosses
> > the Neuse. (This is the first time I've seen one this far south and
> > east, and its a long way from the nearest interstate- anyone know
> > anything about this animal's status in Johnston Co. and eastern NC? I've
> > seen them in northern Wake and Franklin Cos.)
> >
> > Yep, you don't hav to go far.
> >
> > Clyde Sorenson
> > clyde_sorenson@ncsu.edu
> > Clayton and Raleigh, NC