05 Apr Chunk and the Farmer
Jeff Permar, a gardener in Middletown, Delaware, discovered that his organic garden was being destroyed by an unknown culprit. The fresh vegetables he was carefully tending weren’t just being nibbled on; everything was being gobbled up. The farmer suspected it must be an animal living under his shed, so he set up a motion-detecting camera nearby to catch the veggie-loving bandit. When he reviewed the footage, he caught the perpetrator: a groundhog.
This was not just any old groundhog. This groundhog was bold. It would go to the farmer’s garden to select a ripe tomato or cucumber and then bring the food directly in front of the motion camera. With eyes fixed directly on the lens, the groundhog would feast happily on the stolen goods.
The groundhog continued to snack, and none of gardener’s attempts to deter this were working. He built a higher fence, but the groundhog went underneath. The farmer dangled shiny objects meant to scare animals from the garden, but the groundhog seemed to enjoy the decor. To make matters worse, the groundhog even began bringing his girlfriend to share in the feasting.
Neighbors had lots of opinions on how to rid the garden of this nuisance. Some suggested the farmer exterminate the pesky groundhog, while others suggested he cage and relocate them. But as the gardener stared at the video footage, something unexpected happened: He found himself smiling, entertained and impressed by the persistence and boldness of this charming little bandit. He named the chubby groundhog “Chunk” and, as he watched the daily footage, began seeing the groundhog from a different point of view, recognizing that this was the groundhog’s land too and that he was just trying to survive.
As his perspective changed, the gardener came up with a new plan: He embraced the groundhog (and his love interest, whom he named “Nibbles”) as part of the farm’s ecosystem and gave Chunk and Nibbles their very own separate garden. So others could enjoy Chunk’s daily feasting, the farmer began uploading clips to social media. And the plan seems to be working. Chunk is now the happy father of a little groundhog family, and people around the world love watching Chunk.
Some problems are ones we have to stand up to and overcome, but as I watch Chunk chomping happily on vegetables, I am reminded that there are times when the best approach to a problem isn’t to fight against it but rather to see it from another perspective and find a way to work with it.