Groundhogs galore

Continuing the week's wildlife theme (and it's hard not to, the critters are so prevalent...even as I write this I'm watching a squirrel have a good old scratch on a tree bough in the back yard) here are some slightly better pictures of my neighbour the groundhog from early yesterday morning.

I had hoped they would be even better than this, but at least you can see a bit more of the body than in the shots I posted earlier.  I might have missed it altogether, it was just chance that I was staring up the hill and spotted the movement against the brush.  It wasn't until it made its way over to the lawn, though, that it started standing out well against the background, so that's the shots I've posted.

Ultimately it preferred the low brush, though, you can see it's already pining for shelter here, and it soon returned to the dense undergrowth.  Not before I got this one in a standing pose, though.

It was in sight for a long time quite close to us and it didn't scurry off when I opened the door to get a better look.  It's quite a big critter as you can see, its body alone is about the same length as a squirrel including tail. And this one is quite small.

With any luck we'll see more of our groundhog friend as the summer goes on.  In the meantime I'll content myself with the squirrel, which is now having a nice wash.  Never a dull moment!