Well Hello Thoreau!

A few nights ago we spied this creature in the yard next to the barn, he hung out for a moment, even though as we drove in from a long afternoon at the fair, we had to back up when we caught sight of him.  He was happily munching, yet in the back of my mind I wondered, is this the evil creature who snuck into our fort-knox like chicken enclosure to off a couple of our beloved egg layers??  (an aside, chickens are a constant learning experience, and no matter how safe you think your space, something seems to surprise you....now fort-knox has been re-fortified, anything getting in is going to have to burrow!)

I digress.  I put it out on facebook for opinions on what the creature was.  That post was one of my most active with responses, which I found curious, yet encouraged :)  The conclusion:  this is a groundhog/woodchuck, a plant eater, and not our culprit.  We have no idea how long he has lived here, but seems quite tame.  I took photos of him this evening from a mere five feet away.  He is very active, well at least he is very into his food!

Since he is not the dreaded chicken predator, we decided this creature who puts appetite before fear of our little posse, should have a name.  What better than one reflective of living off of the land and having a lovely fat belly!

Meet Thoreau!

Happy Friday!

I am waiting on one last result and I'll do a fair post.  I can say, that it has been quite a ride and this family will be a repeat offender, and probably on a much larger scale next year ;)