What it’s like to fall in love with a woodchuck

September 10, 2013

This post is not written to impress, but simply is a way for me to keep hold of these memories.  It was such an amazing experience for me and our entire family.
Andy found the babies and I think he found them before they had been attacked.  (This is why I’m writing this, because even now I cannot recall all of the details.)  He had found three baby woodchucks that apparently didn’t have their mother.

For years we had a large woodchuck that lived in a hole just before getting to our woods.  We had no idea if it was male or female, however we gave him a proper name; Wood Charles.  Earlier this summer we had commented that we hadn’t seen Wood Charles in a while.  It was not long after that that Andy found the babies.  We have yet to see Wood Charles since.

If I recall, our experience started right around Father’s Day of this year; 2013. Andy and Sara were playing with the baby woodchuck(s).  There may have been only one at a time in the beginning, but I think we did know that there were at least two and maybe three.  It was a day that both kids worked at the bakery, and in that time (a few hours) all of the woodchucks suffered attacks by flies.  They were completely covered with fly larvae (maggots).  Andy washed the first one with soap and water and gave him milk through a tiny syringe.  Unfortunately, luck was not on our side and the first woodchuck died within hours of trying to rescue him.

The second one did well for a couple of days, and then turned ill.  We gave him pedia-lite through the same tiny syringe, but he died over night while sleeping in a box next to Andy’s bed.  We thought that the maggots may have actually gotten into his mouth and had affected him internally.
By the time we got hold of the third one, the kids realized that cow’s milk may be poisonous to woodchucks and that getting the maggots wet activated them and advanced the situation.  Andy painstakingly picked each individual dry fly larvae from the third woodchuck and he survived.  The first woodchuck was named Chucky, the second was Budsky and the third, our survivor, was Chuck Taylor.

As Chuck Taylor grew over the following days, Andy would take him out in the yard to eat grass in his more familiar setting and as time went on Chuck got so that he could run pretty quick.  One day while out playing, Chuck ran away from Andy and vanished into the hole in the back yard where he apparently had been born.  Andy was pretty sad and we didn’t think that we would ever hold Chuck again, maybe see him, but probably never hold.

A day or two later we glanced out the kitchen window and Chuck had come back to visit.  We gave him lettuce and held him for a while, and then Andy took him back to his home.  The day after that, Sara and I were sitting on the deck talking about if we would ever see him again and to our surprise, at that moment his little head poked up over the steps on the deck.  He had come all the way from the woods, up the steps onto the deck to see us.  I think it was that moment that I fell in love with Chuck.  A wild animal from our woods came up to the house to be with us.

There were times after that, that I would see Chuck in the morning before going to work.  I’d play with him out by the pool, and take pictures.  There were a number of times that when I would eventually leave to go to my car, that he would follow me right to my car.  I was afraid that he would get under the car, so I picked him up, took him over by where we would play, leave him there and run around the backside of the garage and around to my car so that he wouldn’t follow me.
Sara took the first video of Chuck eating strawberries, and I thought it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.  That was when I started taking videos.  I didn’t want to take the spotlight away from Sara, but I just couldn’t help capturing some really fun videos.  Chuck never took a bad picture or looked bad in video.   He has to be the most photogenic woodchuck in the world.

One Saturday I was determined to do all of the trimming around all of the trees with the weed eater, so I put on my old clothes and shoes, filled up a jug with ice water and set out for the yard.  I made a first pass with the weed eater till it ran out of gas, so I headed back to the garage to take a quick break to take on some water then gas up the weed eater and go for it again.  As I sat down on the patio with my jug of ice water, Chuck decided to waddle over and visit with me.  He came over and I let him nibble on my fingers for a while.  It was a sunny day and we were playing in the direct sun.  After a little more playing with my hand Chuck decided to head back towards the shed.  He ended up going under the diving board at the end of the swimming pool and under it he found shade!  He immediately turned to face the pool and plopped down on his tummy.  Just about the cutest thing I think I’ve seen.  After lying in the shade for a while, for some reason he decided to start rolling around as if he was playing or trying to itch his back.  He started rolling close to the pool and I was afraid that he might accidentally fall in.  Quickly I got up and walked towards the shed and he saw me and followed close behind.  Fatal pool incident averted.

At some point at the end of July, Chuck appeared to have some new kind of larvae growing under his skin.  Tracey was able to squeeze one of these nasty little wormy things out of Chuck’s side, but there were still more that we could not get.  Andy and Tracey cleverly used the syringe that we had used to feed the first two, and used it to extract (suck) the remaining larvae out of Chuck.  We also treated Chuck with flea and tick repellant.  We were kind of worried, but he seemed to recover without any side-effects.

Several times I saw Chuck peeking in the back doors.  The doors to the deck are full panes of glass with only enough of a wood border that would allow a woodchuck to stand on his hind legs and peer into the house.  If he was on the deck and you wanted to open the door, it was completely impossible to avoid having Chuck get in the house.  He would literally squeeze down and go over the threshold and under the door at the same time.

You’d think that a wild animal would not enjoy being in our home, but apparently Chuck had been in our house enough times in the beginning that he loved coming in the house.  He did have the occasional accident that we’d have to clean up.  He’d like to hide under the china cabinet in the dining room and the butcher block table in the kitchen.  We would also play with him in the living room; he loved to scamper under the sofas.  We could sit and hold him, but he was so frisky that we had to feed him in order to keep him still long enough to hold him.

His energy gave him his unique personality; I’ve never experienced anything else like it. I cannot arrange words in a way that satisfy my overwhelming feelings for our little woodland friend.

Light is Life


Needles



Branching Out


Moon


Mars & Venus



Jupiter


Saturn


Charcoal sketch 3


Charcoal sketch 2


Charcoal sketch 1


Where is my Soul

October 27, 1999

what is love? is it part of my soul?
where does it come from? where does it go?
feelings are trapped in a mind? or a heart?
where is my soul, is it intact or apart?

history books tell the times before me
written in black and white, for all to see
i've read it, believed it, that's what it was
but the bible stories, that's a hard one because...

chorus
heaven and soul is a strange little notion
do souls float to heaven in a slow steady motion
where's my love, that's what somebody stole
but i need to know, where is my soul?

is love only a feeling that grows inside
the purity of love must be sanctified
the soul being the garden from which it grows
where is my soul, ...... nobody knows

if i didn't have a soul, what would that mean?
heaven and love would never be seen?
have i ever been in love? should be questioned now
or, have i ever been loved by someone, ....somehow?

chorus
heaven and soul is a strange little notion
do souls float to heaven in a slow steady motion
where's my love, that's what somebody stole
but i need to know, where is my soul?

is a soul something that someone can touch
can it be broken, injured or hindered as such
a heart can be broken, love can be lost
for the healing of these is an enormous cost

believing in something is the eternal key
some believe in the bible, but i believe in me
maybe the bible's right and heaven is up there
it just seems strange that the ticket is a prayer

chorus
heaven and soul is a strange little notion
do souls float to heaven in a slow steady motion
where's my love, that's what somebody stole
but more importantly, where is my soul?

Kissed by a Dove

April 17, 2000

when the sun rose this morning
in a breath of orange and blue
it was sign, not a warning
today brings something new

its time to find the reason
to answer all the whys
for this is now the season
to put away the cries

chorus
i saw a dove in the sunrise today
alone on an iridescent sky
confidence in a humble way
carrying all the reasons why

a warm wind blew across the field
and kissed my chilly cheek
oh these wounds will soon be healed
strength's returning to the weak

the wind blew warm a tender kiss
so much like the feeling of love
that's the feeling that i miss
kissed by a little dove

chorus
i saw a dove in the sunrise today
alone on an iridescent sky
confidence in a humble way
carrying all the reasons why

ignored are answers all around
in a world so busy with greed
see the world hear its sound
there's more than want and need

reasons held to a blazing sunrise
by a tiny little dove
that answer all of the whys
its carrying the power of love

chorus
i saw a dove in the sunrise today
alone on an iridescent sky
confidence in a humble way
carrying all the reasons why

Autumn Lullaby


October 4, 2000
come lay your heart
next to mine
we've been apart
too long this time

souls will soothe
together we lay
silk flows smooth
as we fly away

<chorus>
   with downy wings
   in a cider sky
   a fledgling sings
   autumn lullaby

<bridge>
like summer is to fields of wheat
we have grown almost complete
pumpkin dreams for you and i
of filling this november sky
with a warm autumn lullaby

<verse>
come close your eyes
hold me tight
touch the skies
beyond tonight

feelings run deep
to dreams held high
together let's sleep
then away we'll fly

<chorus>
   with downy wings
   in a cider sky
   a fledgling sings
   autumn lullaby

When I Fall


June 22, 2002


<verse>
i'm only a tree, a piece of forest
not the tallest, not the shortest
standing straight among the rest
never an oak, but i do my best

stood strong all year, grew a ring
hug the breeze, wish i could sing
lost the leaves from my kelly crown
my branches clutter the mossy ground

<chorus>
still i'm special in this average place
a couple saplings grow in my space
they're growing fast, sturdy, tall
to take my place when i fall

<verse>
i protect them from the wind and ice
i pray for them this is paradise
all too soon, the world they'll see
to discover what is responsibility

they'll hold hammocks or tire swings
or grow saplings with a million rings
but neither will be an ordinary tree
they'll be special just like me

<chorus>
i'm special in this average place
a couple saplings grow in my space
they're growing fast, sturdy, tall
to take my place when i fall

<bridge>
when i fall the sky will open
the finches and sparrows will move along
they'll settle in some younger tree
continuing on with their song

<chorus>
i think i'm special in this place
a couple saplings grow in my space
they're growing fast, sturdy, tall
they'll take my place when i fall


Aerosol

February 13, 2001

[intro]
to create something from nothing at all
in chemistry class, Harris Hall
friendship, happiness maybe more
we made something I can't ignore

[verse]
it was this tension when I'd breathe
around my heart like an Easter wreath
something held me carelessly high
and the safety net was never tied

it was warm, delicate, a candle's flame
for my soul I felt her claim
this feeling was soft as feathers fall
and as free as wind and aerosol

[chorus]
love's as free as aerosol
that once blew through Harris Hall
now her perfume fades away
into a warm summer day
it's a scene that'll share us all
love is only aerosol

[verse]
our experiments in chemistry
are now taught in history
we were pure as distilled water
'til the eye of another caught her

and her flame burnt the wreath
left my heart falling beneath
for now she's gone, maybe forever
i missed the chance to say i love her

[chorus]
love's as free as aerosol
that once blew through Harris Hall
now her perfume fades away
into a warm summer day
it's a scene that'll share us all
love is only aerosol

[bridge]
can you feel the summer breeze
can you feel my burning knees
can you hear my endless prayer
to touch again her golden hair
can you hear my desperate call
please bring back my aerosol

[chorus]
love's as free as aerosol
the one that blew through Harris Hall
now her perfume fades away
into a warm summer day
it's a scene that'll share us all
love is only aerosol

Snowman

November 20, 2000 

[verse] 
a year of snow fell that day 
nary a child could stay away 
angels, igloos and men of kinds 
creations all from eager minds 

and under the pines near the hill 
the freshest snow lay quiet, still 
there stood a man built from snow 
alone, where the wind won't blow 

[chorus] 
loneliness stands beneath the pines 
the snowman waits for Valentines 
a heart of ice in a soul of steam
the snowman lives a silent dream 

[verse] 
one warmer day, the sun did shine 
and found its way through the pine 
it touched his heart, a warm embrace 
while the smile melted from his face 

suddenly in his snowy mind 
he knew he'd never stand till Valentines 
the love he waited for, may never come 
his closest love, was now the sun 

[chorus] 
loneliness stands beneath the pines 
the snowman waits for Valentines 
a heart of ice in a soul of steam 
the snowman lives a silent dream 

[bridge] 
and someday... it all will melt 
never mind how we felt 
life's too short to stand and wait 
we have the freedom to make our fate 
so if you have a soul of steam 
never live a silent dream 

'cause...
 [chorus] 
loneliness stands beneath the pines 
the snowman waits for Valentines 
a heart of ice in a soul of steam 
the snowman lives a silent dream

Sunday Paper

January 15, 2001

[verse]
the headline reads 'Man Insane!'
He disappeared never seen again.
a bizarre story it begins to tell
about a man  afraid to yell

the Empire State he stood on top
as people waited to watch him drop
He stood alone, with something to say
then without a word he ran away

[chorus]
the Sunday Paper reads of mystery
what went wrong, who could he be
the mystery man in the paper today
knew the story, but had nothing to say

[bridge]
on top the building like old King Kong
ready to sing some fabulous song
ready to tell the world around
yet he couldn't make a single sound
stood there still like he was froze
and who he was nobody knows

[verse 2]
reporters flew from Channel Eight
taking pictures before it's too late
they flew up close in their helicopter
pulling a sign reading 'You should've stopped her'

then right there in the Sunday Paper
I realize I should've tried to keep her
'I'm sorry', is what I needed to scream
and maybe last night, wasn't a dream

[chorus]
the Sunday Paper reads of mystery
what went wrong, who could he be
the mystery man in the paper today
knew the story, but had nothing to say

Tears are Burning

September 11, 2001

[verse]
what does it take
to kill a virgo sky?
then bury it's warmth
beneath ash and tar

a heartless soul
wielding war
like a coupon clipped
in a grocery store

[chorus]
a body cries
it's points are turning
in the darkest night
tears are burning
tears are burning

[bridge]
like a scene right from hollywood
this film may never be understood
movie ends, the plot i'm learning
and somewhere tonight
tears are burning

[chorus]
a family cries
it's points are turning
in the darkest night
tears are burning
tears are burning

[verse]
so what becomes
of all that's gone
the life, the loss
tomorrow's dawn

we're living in
a world that's churning
let peace flood
all that's burning

[chorus]
a nation cries
it's points are turning
in the darkest night
tears are burning
tears are burning