How much wood could a woodchuck chuck. . . .

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood!

I don't think woodchucks actually like wood.  And since I'm a biologist, I have to point out that this animal is really a groundhog.  As in Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather predicting animal for which Groundhog's Day is named.  The name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood, but instead comes from the word “wuchak”, an Algonquian name for groundhog.  Chucking is the act of throwing something down, especially something you don't want or care about.  Groundhogs are almost complete vegetarians and don't have the digestive system to eat wood.  So if they encounter wood, I guess they really would just chuck it aside.


Here's another tongue twister that also applies to our furry friend:
How much ground would a groundhog hog if a groundhog could hog ground?
A groundhog could hog as much ground as a groundhog could if a groundhog could hog ground.


ANYWAY, we had some wood chucked onto our lot the other day.  Except in our case we really do want to keep it.  The long awaited-for engineered floor joists arrived and will be put into place in a couple of days!  The rest of the wood is due by then also.

The floor joists have arrived!

We're on our way to a new house!


Onward and upward,
Mark, Mark and Isabel