Okay, so, “living in burrows gray zone.” Sounds kinda mysterious, right? Well, it all started with my backyard. Seriously.
I’ve got this, like, moderately sized backyard, and for the longest time, I’ve noticed these… holes. Not just, you know, little divots, but proper holes, some bigger than others. I figured, squirrels, maybe? We get a lot of those. But then, I started seeing things. Like, really seeing things.
Digging into the Mystery (Literally)
First, I observed. I’d sit out back with my coffee in the morning (don’t judge, I need my caffeine) and just watch. I saw the usual suspects – birds, squirrels, the occasional neighborhood cat. But then, I’d see these quick flashes of gray fur, way bigger than a squirrel, disappearing into the holes.
Next, I investigated. Armed with a garden trowel (because who owns a real shovel?), I carefully started to, uh, “explore” one of the smaller holes. It went deeper than I expected! And there was this… smell. Kinda earthy, kinda… musky? Not awful, but definitely not squirrel-like.
- Used a garden trowel for some digging.
- Found a small burrow.
- Smelled earthy, musky, definitely not squirrel-like.
Then came the “gray zone” part. I wasn’t seeing clear-cut animals. It wasn’t like, “Oh, there’s a rabbit!” It was more like, “Was that… a really big rat? A small opossum? A… what is that thing?”
So, I set up a camera. One of those cheap trail cameras you can get, nothing fancy. And I waited. And waited. And checked the footage every. Single. Day.
- Used a cheap trail camera.
- Checked the footage everyday.
Finally, I got something! Blurry, grainy images, mostly at night. But I could make out… well, it looked like a family of groundhogs. Big, chunky, gray groundhogs. And they were busy. Coming and going, carrying stuff, doing… groundhog things, I guess.
- Got Blurry, grainy images.
- Looks like a family of groundhogs.
So, “living in burrows gray zone”? It’s my way of saying I’m coexisting with these creatures. I’m not trying to get rid of them (yet!), but I’m also not exactly inviting them in for tea. It’s this weird, in-between space where we acknowledge each other’s existence, but mostly keep our distance. For now, it’s their world out there, and that’s okay.
I did fill in some burrows away from footpaths so there is no risk of myself or visitors taking an unexpected tumble and ending up with a twisted ankle.
