Happy Groundhog Day

[Herb in Pa]

The little #&*#%% saw his shadow..............

[versifier]

Yeah, but he never saw the hollow point.... [smilie=p: [smilie=p: [smilie=p:

[Frank46]

Herb, here in loosiana we have a bona fide nutra rat (nutria) in place of a ground hog. About the only thing they are good for is target practice. Suckers will dig up your grass down to the dirt and takes a long time to regrow. One of the outdoor channels on cable had a segment on hunting them. You'd get into a boat and just cruise the bayou and when you see them swimming whack 'em with a 12 guage. One local even had recipies for eating them. Rats I ain't eating no rats. There was another segment shown with a bunch of guys in a pickup and they'd shine one of those bright lights on them and pot them near some canals. Frank

[wills]

I remember reading in the newspaper some time back, the state was promoting nutria as good eating, kind of the other other white meat.

[Scrounger]

Frank, you can probably pick up some extra cash selling the Nutria meat to CarpetMan for his jerky business. There is a real shortage of cats in Texas these days...

[wills]

Better yet, sell "Vintage" nutria jerkey on e bay.

[carpetman]

Frank46----They would bother mentioning that A Cajun would eat a nutria? Would thought that was a given---key word Cajun.

[Herb in Pa]

I have heard that the groundhog was one popular fare in Pennsylvania during the Depression era. I think I'll pass on that one. They sure are destructive critters and are responsible for a lot of livestock fatalitites due to broken legs. I've even seen instances where tractors have overturned after one of their tunnels have collapsed under the weight of the machinery. They are good for long range target practice though.

[StarMetal]

Herb

I grew up in the area you are in. First let me say my folks did eat woodchucks during the depression. In fact I've eaten young one and they are very good. First a groundhog is a very clean animal and it is strictly a vegetarian, except for some fruit. Cleaner then a damn ground raised chicken. Hell they eat their own poop.

Ok, in all those years I hunted them for farmer, I've never been told of or heard of a livestock injury or tractor accident because of groundhog holes. EXCEPT when my best friend and I were teenagers we worked on a horse and cattle farm. We were brush hogging one day and had the right rear wheel sink into a big groundhog caveran. No big deal, nobody hurt, and tractor not harmed. Just pulled the tractor right on out. A little about groundhog holes. Generally they never burrow straight down. Usually their holes are at an angle or under something such as a large boulder or a tree trunk. When I moved out west and hunted praire dogs their holes are entirely different. They had some like groundhogs but an awful lot of of them WERE straight down before they turned. Now I can see a horse or cow breaking it's leg easy in a straight down praire dog hole.

Joe...Groundhog Biologist :coffeecom

[carpetman]

Starmetal---"Strictly vegetarian---except for a little fruit". That little fruit would make them carnivorous? They grow cows on fruit trees in your parts?

[StarMetal]

Well what I meant Carpetman they sure aren't like squirrels, I've seen red squirrel eat birds. In fact shot one that had just caught a bird and was in it's mouth. Let's just say that groundhogs don't eat meat or bugs.

Joe

[Scrounger]

Well what I meant Carpetman they sure aren't like squirrels, I've seen red squirrel eat birds. In fact shot one that had just caught a bird and was in it's mouth. Let's just say that groundhogs don't eat meat or bugs.

Joe

Now, Joe, you know SheepMan, oops, I mean CarpetMan, is an expert on four-legged animals...

[Shepherd2]

I've never rolled a tractor over because of a groundhog hole but I've come very, very close a couple times while mowing or baling hay on a hillside. I can't remember how many times my head has hit the canopy on my tractor when I've hit a groundhog hole. I thought that was insulation on the underside. Maybe it's padding. I've stepped in a few groundhog holes too but haven't broken a leg yet. But anything can happen.

We don't see many groundhogs anymore. The coyotes have done a big number on them. I used to go out and shoot 3 or 4 in an evening and now I don't see that many in a year. I miss that. I don't miss all the holes they left behind.

[StarMetal]

Shepherd,

Interesting you name is Chuck and you hunt woodchucks. Hey I lived in southcentral Ohio for a good number of years and boy is that place polluted with groundhogs. Funny, I never went to hunt them...welll, because I like the little critters now. When I see the first one in the spring it gives me a good feeling that spring is really here. I've given them amnesty

Joe

[waksupi]

Herb

First a groundhog is a very clean animal and it is strictly a vegetarian, except for some fruit. Cleaner then a damn ground raised chicken. Hell they eat their own poop.

Joe...Groundhog Biologist :coffeecom

This just proves my point on chickens. Never eat anything, that eats with it's pecker.

[Shepherd2]

Joe - I'll bet if you went back where you used to live you wouldn't find many groundhogs now. I've heard varmint hunters all over Ohio complaining about coyotes wiping the groundhogs out. They are about extinct around here and when I do see one I give it a pass. The coyotes OTOH are thriving. I guess they are now eating deer which are getting about as numerous as the pasture poodles once were.

I haven't had anyone stop by and ask permission to hunt groundhogs in 4 or 5 years. I get "coyote hunters" stopping by but 99.9% of them want to drive up and down the road in their pickup truck and shoot a coyote if they see it from the road.

I have an old Ruger 77 Varmint model in .22/250 that will shoot under 1/2 MOA. I haven't had it out of the safe other than to clean it in about 4 years.

[Frank46]

Nutria, the other white meat, I like that. Contrary to popular opinion cajuns don't eat every thing. Vintage nutria jerky should sell well on ebay. I'll relate a true story. We have a transformer mounted on a pole near our house. Well one day Mr. Squirrel decides he's gonna take a stroll across the transformer. Sad to say he didn't survive the experience. The local power company sends out a repairman to replace the fusible link. When I saw him he asked how long did this happen. I told him about an hour. Well he picks up the squirrel and puts it in his truck. I asked what for. He says thats supper!!!!. Live and learn. Frank

[carpetman]

Frank46---"Contrary to popular belief Cajuns don't eat everything." Yea you are right it's just a rumor. Driving across Louisiana I have seen several freshly blown out tires still laying on the highway.

[walltube]

Feeding fruits to nutria has caused quite a furor in New Orleenz' French Quarter. Gov. Katie Blanco is pushing legislation to criminalise the practice as a hate crime.

Walltube

[waksupi]

Quote of the day, author unknown

"I tell you what. Somebody needs to tell that mayor of Chocolate City
to get those chocolate chips off of their ass and stop waiting for the
caramels to rebuild their houses and the vanillas to pay for it."

[Ricochet]

Frank, that guy didn't even have to cook his supper.

Like Joe said, groundhog's good eatin'. Only problem is, you usually hunt 'em in warm weather, so you've got to be quick taking care of 'em and putting 'em on ice, or they'll go bad. Shame to blow 'em all to pieces and leave 'em laying.

[walltube]

Frank46---"Contrary to popular belief Cajuns don't eat everything." Yea you are right it's just a rumor. Driving across Louisiana I have seen several freshly blown out tires still laying on the highway.


Dear Sir,

I am intrigued by the last sentence of the above post.

Can you actually "see" if a tire is freshly blown? What extraordinary talent or sensory organ are you possesed of to determine the relative state of "blown"? Is this observation & determination done on the fly or do stop and exit your vehicle at the resting site of any given tire for an examination? You state "several", have you a quota for any given day? "..still laying.." : do mean as in poultry?

Other motorists may not recognise the importance all this is to you. How do you avoid being struck by oncoming vehicles whilst the "seeing" is underway? After all, you do itterate "on the highway". You have my profound sympathy.

Surely you must have had ( or still having?) exciting moments and\or romantic encounters with Louisiana's fearsome reptiles during your "seeing" adventures that you'd like to share with us.

With Utmost Respect, I Remain:

Truly Yours.............Walltube

[carpetman]

Dear Sir Walltube,
Perhaps my description of "freshly blown" was improper terminology and a real conoisseur would have used a more apt adjective. 30 minutes old-45 minutes,one hour or some such. Not being a connoisseur,I don't really know the freshness. Perhaps they were stale and that is the secret as to why they were still available. You do seem to have in depth knowledge and I would just as a matter of curiosity,like to know what you do look for when selecting a blown tire for gumbo. Again,I really don't know how fresh they were but in casual passing,I didn't see any moss on them,which would lead me to believe they had not been out there on a Louisiana rode for very long. Also curious as to what you add to them--rice is a given---do you add chicory? Are they pretty good huh? Brought yourself over here rat now and tell me about it huh.

[floodgate]

Catpetman:

Fergit the squabbling about the vintage of the tires, DID YOU SCORE ANY WHEELWEIGHTS?!?

floodgate

[carpetman]

floodgate---Score any ww's? In Louisiana? Hell ww's as rare there as an automobile with both headlights working. For their roads balance is not a factor.

[wills]

Feeding fruits to nutria has caused quite a furor in New Orleenz' French Quarter. Gov. Katie Blanco is pushing legislation to criminalise the practice as a hate crime.

Walltube
Cruelty to nutria?

[Scrounger]

Catpetman:

Fergit the squabbling about the vintage of the tires, DID YOU SCORE ANY WHEELWEIGHTS?!?

floodgate

He's more interested in scoring lanolin...

[Herb in Pa]

Charlie walks into his bedroom with a sheep under his arm and says:
"Darling, this is the pig I have sex with when you have a headache."

His girlfriend is lying in bed and replies: "I think you'll find that's a
sheep, you idiot."

The man says: "I think you'll find I wasn't talking to you."

[Frank46]

Carpetman, musta hit an armadillo. When you run over nature's version of a sherman you'll
know it. Heck I once saw an alligator that had the misfortune to get run over. Only thing is that a state trooper was behind me. And yes they also make good eatin. Expensive in the resaurants. Frank