Welcome PJ!

Banner day, my friends!

Today we welcome Booker's child, PJ to the backyard!

Talk about a major surprise when I looked outside this evening and saw a little grey groundhog snuffling around a few feet away from Booker!

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the birth of baby groundhogs:
"The breeding season for groundhogs extends from early March to mid-April. A mated pair remains in the same den throughout the 32 day gestation period. As birth of the young approaches in April or May, the male leaves the den. A litter usually contains 2–6 blind, hairless and helpless young. Young groundhogs are weaned and ready to seek their own dens at five to six weeks."

So it looks like PJ was born around May first and now five weeks later is learning to forage on his or her own.

PJ -- born May 1st, 2011.

Staying close to dad until I know a little more about the world.

P.S. I'm going to maintain that Booker is male, even though deductive reasoning would indicate otherwise since male groundhogs have no role in raising their young.