Groundhogs, Facts, and Literature

A few years ago Mysterical-E published my only ever Groundhog Day story. I started with Punxsutawney Phil, moved the venue slightly, and renamed my rodent Levittown Louis.

Here’s a link if you want some light reading, suitable for a winter’s day: http://www.mystericale.com/index.php?issue=071&body=story&file=levittown_louie.htm

Interesting (to me) groundhog facts:

They are also known as whistle-pigs and woodchucks.

To my knowledge, no one has ever determined exactly how much wood they would chuck if the could chuck wood.

They are officially members of the marmot family.

They sit up and eat nuts like squirrels do, but they don’t bury them.

They don’t drink water, but get enough from eating leafy plants.

They dig holes, burrows, and make nuisances of themselves that way. (Not an interesting fact, just a fact.)

Lastly, Robert Frost wrote an allegorical poem called “A Drumlin Woodchuck.” Here’s a copy with commentary:

http://www.geocities.ws/dualkelly/EnS/Wood.html

I don’t know if there are a lot of other literary references beside mine and Frost’s. Do you know any?

pictures from morguefile.com

some info from wikipedia