Another One - March 23, 2022

Though it is officially spring, it doesn't feel much like it around our place.  

This past weekend was windy, but warm enough to piddle around in the yard.  On one of his piddling expeditions Saturday morning, The Husband spotted another groundhog poking its head out of the hole.  He set the trap again, baiting it this time with lettuce and carrots.  We figured we'd catch the groundhog before the day was over.  The Husband said he'd call Son #1 to haul this other one off if we caught it.  (I thought, but did not say, chickensh*t.)  

Before the day was over, though, we had to go to a birthday party at Son #1's house.  Son #1's brother-in-law was there.  This brother-in-law (let's just call him "Bro" from now on, so I won't have to keep typing "brother-in-law") - Bro is an expert barbeque-r.  (He enters - and sometimes even wins or at least places - bbq contests all over the place.)  At some point during the afternoon, the subject of the groundhog catch-and-release program arose.  Bro exclaimed, "Damn!  You turned it loose?  I've been wanting to try groundhog!"  I figured he was kidding.

A discussion of the dangers of groundhog meat ensued.  Son #1 said groundhogs carry a whole bunch of diseases.  Bro said he figured 350 degrees on the grill would kill anything.

I said, "Well, there's another one, and we've already baited the trap.  He might already be in it.  If he's caught when we get home, I'll call you." 

He said he'd damn sure come get it and cook it.

There was no groundhog in the trap when we got home.  The lettuce was gone, though, and the carrots had been moved around.  Chipmunk or squirrel, probably - something lightweight enough to not spring the trap.  

We baited the trap again on Sunday.  Same thing happened; something ate the bait and evaded capture.  Being out of lettuce and carrots, we tried a raw potato.  Come dark, we still hadn't caught anything, and The Husband sprung the trap and set it aside, saying it was supposed to rain the next day, and he didn't want to deal with the groundhog in the rain, so it's still running amuck in the gully.  

If/when we finally catch it, we'll see whether or not Bro was kidding.  Either way, I'm probably never going to eat bbq at his house.