Visit by the Groundhog 1989

We had just finished our lunch on the sun porch with my visiting quilt friends when we saw the groundhog enter the garage.  John took the dogs and the hunt was on.

Ann and Geraldine had never even see a groundhog and now they were about to see one meet its demise.  Sister and Jill know how to do it and do it well.  At first the groundhog got under some junk in the corner, and it was John who “helped” him out of there by using a hoe.

Sister made the initial grab.  The groundhog either bit or scratched her and she yelped, letting him go.  But his attention was still centered on Sister when Jill got him from behind and the fight was over.  She shook him repeatedly and while she rested Sister gook the responsibility again.   They killed him in a few short minutes while my friends watched from the porch in utter amazement.

After a day of talking about the many happenings in the world of quilting and doing some planning and talking about their seen-to-begin Baltimore quilts, my friends departed for home.  They had remarked that this day had been different, to which I agreed, and as I quilted after they left, I reflected on our walk, the kill and the excitement-filled conversation.  It’s nice to have friends who share my interest in quilts and quilting with the same fervor.

As I dragged the water hose around, watering the new grass and various plants, my thoughts returned to the mundane everyday happenings of the Windy Knoll.  But the adrenaline flowed somewhat faster, as I watered plants under the big oak and the Black Racer slithered from under the Coral Bell plant.  He must be of the Methodist Faith, as he does not seem to like water.  He very hurriedly went to the safety of the junk in the garage, but I gave him one last sprinkle as he left.  I don’t want to handle the snakes, but neither do I want them killed.  They, too, are part of God’s creation and help to give balance to our environment.

We are enjoying the blossoms of the Butterfly weed and Rudbeckia – both of which are blooming a month earlier than usual.  Makes one wonder about blooms for the rest of the season.  It’s a “many-splendored thing” – this business of country living.