I was taking a bucket of compost out to the bin, which is a wooden shed-like structure Al built a couple years ago to replace the ones built out of old pallets. I leaned over the front door of the bin to dump my scraps… and came face to face with the huge groundhog that lives under the cottage in the back yard!
He was on top of the pile, enjoying a lunch of previously discarded rotten tomatoes, carrot leaves and such.
We both squealed in surprise, and he scooted out underneath the door.
This is him on a different day, taken from the dining room window – I would say he goes at least 10 lbs.
Where have the days gone? 
LOL! Your "neighbours" are a little like mine! He looks sort of cute.
He's so cute!
Now wait a minute! Your neighbors are drug dealers, right?!? 😉
LOL … they make me feel like squealing when I see them and they seem to live in the dark recesses of the back alley. 🙂
ROFL
Haha. Aww thats so cool, Ive never seen one in person.
Ten pounds? Doesn't a Cocker Spaniel weight 10 pounds? DANG!!!
Cute! I think, you should give him a name.
We grow 'em big and fat around here… the smorgasbord of free veggie scraps helps this one augment his normal diet of clover & dandelions from our yard, but each one I see grazing at the side of the road or galumphing through our meadow at the office is pretty darn well-fed. There's a reason Groundhog Day has its roots in Western Pennsylvania!
LOL!!! They are cute. Sort of like a guinnea pig with a neck.
Isn't that the equivalent of a marmot (in Switzerland)?
I'll be darned – so it is! I always thought marmots were smaller alpine rodents only, but I see on Wikipedia that our groundhogs are actually a variety of marmot. I also see that marmots now are thought to have been bubonic plague carriers, and responsible for a billion deaths! Nice…
You learn something new every day!