Seriously, i don't know if it was rabid or what. but Molly was barking like mad out under the tree and my oldest daughter went out to see what was up and came in and said that the dog found a woodchuck and it was really close and did i want her to throw something at it?
Glad i told her i'd take care of it cause it was only 2 feet away from the dog who was at the end of her lead and pulling, barking constantly.... the woodchuck was facing her down
I came out with the pellet gun (that we keep around as a deterrent to such things), 8 pumps or so, called Molly off.
the groundhog didn't move
i shot it in the face from 3 feet away and then it charged me!
i tried to hit it with the butt of the pellet gun and my leg made me miss, then it scrambled under the shed . i pumped the pellet gun again but didn't want to be at eye level with the thing if it decided to lunge out from under the shed. i tried to flush it out by going inside and banging stuff around but i didn't see it leave
i don't know if its gone or still under there.
but it had flies all over its face.
maybe its a female wih babies under the woodpile. but why would it challenge a dog like that? there was plenty of room for it to run clear around the dog.
I checked the dog for bites just in case, none. She's UTD for Rabies, but it freaked me out. I've never been charged by a groundhog before.
The pain that shot up my leg when i tried to hit the thing and the shock of it lunging for me had me shaking for a good 15 minutes. It just seemed wrong right from the start when i saw it there with the dog barking right in its face.
I swear they aren't cute.
I have words for those things that are not appropriate for a blog where children may be present.
Maybe it got a heck of a shock from the fence and is still screwed up.
It was a rainy night and a wet morning, a wet groundhog and an electric fence might make a good lightshow.
?
I didn't get to check the garden close until just a half hour ago, but it did get raided again. I saw some more damage after dusk last night but i can't tell if there is new damage where i looked this morning from the destruction of last night... but i did have the cauliflower and brussels sprouts in a different row that hadn't been gotten into yet..... but the woodchucks found it either last night or this morning because there isn't much left of either.
The broccoli is done in, the cabbages are toast, the kohlrabi are too small to use or i'd pick them now to save what was left.
The swiss chard is hanging on, barely and the kale is the only thing not touched.
I can't believe it, in a few days those horrid things destroyed weeks of work and effort, and then one of them has the nerve to charge me?
I'm going to catch them.
and they will die.
