My friend John gave me a Bushnell Aggressor Trail Cam several months ago. I’ve moved it around our yard, turning it on from evening to early morning. We’ve seen a doe, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, cardinals, robins, and a raccoon.

Two days ago, while I was sitting in our backyard, I heard a high pitched whistle from under the old shed. Aw, the woodchuck was back. This fellow has been living next door, we think, with occasional trips into our yard. Early in the summer he dug holes under our woodshed and started eating some greens from our garden bed. I put up fences and plugged the holes under the shed. That seemed to work.

But he was back this week. I moved the camera so that it faced the old shed. The chubby fellow seemed to know the camera was there, striking some fine poses. I call it a male given his bulky nature.

The woodchuck eyes the camera.

He looks well fed.

He decides it is safe to emerge and forage in our back yard.

We try to live with various animals in our yard, even those that eat some of our fruits and vegetables. If physical barriers, such as fencing and raised beds, are effective deterrents, then we happily share. I like watching the woodchuck scurry back to his den on those short legs. Woodchucks are surprisingly fast.

Another animal appeared on the camera the same night. The woodchuck ventures out to feed during the day and sleeps by night. Our other visitor — an opossum — has also used the old shed before. They seem to be sharing the space now. The opossum hunts at night. I wonder how they have divvied up the space beneath the shed.

The opossum leaves at 7:38 PM.

The opossum returns at 10:25 PM.

We typically only notice the opossum in winter, when we can see its unusual track pattern in the snow leading to and from the shed. It’s nice to see this one on camera in September.