How much wood,

Would a woodchuck chuck,

If a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Is one of those ditties that runs around in one’s head for hours at a time.

There aren’t really any good answers, but several attempted bits of wit on the theme, such as

• “He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
• If he could chuck wood, the woodchuck would chuck as much as he could!
• A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
• A woodchuck would chuck all the wood that the woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
• If a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would and should chuck wood. But if woodchucks can't chuck wood, they shouldn't and wouldn't chuck wood. Though were I a woodchuck, and I chucked wood, I would chuck wood with the best woodchucks that chucked wood.
• If a woodchuck could chuck wood, then s/he'd chuck all the wood, s/he'd chuck and chuck and chuck and chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
• It would chuck the amount of wood that she sells seashells on the seashore divided by how many pickles Peter Piper picks.
• One quarter of a sycamore if you give him a quarter for every quarter of the sycamore he cut.
• It might depend on how many female woodchucks were present. Or, it could depend on whether the woodchuck's mother-in-law was around or not. If she was, he'd be chucking all day. If not, he'd be watching the football game.
• Some maintain that woodchucks could not and would not chuck wood at all.
• It depends on how good his dentures are!
• A woodchuck, would chuck, as much wood, as a woodchuck, could chuck, If a woodchuck could chuck wood. But unfortunately, woodchucks do not chuck wood.
• About as many boards as the Mongol hoards would hoard if the Mongol hordes did hoard boards. »

A partial list taken from « askville by Amazon ».

So although we can’t know whether or not a woodchuck even chucks wood, I have found that in the mountains everyone has been as « busy as a bee ». Wood stacks have sprouted over the past week in places that were entirely bare. Formed in many different shapes and stacked in many different ways – all are interesting as shown from the photos below (and yes, I went a bit overboard, but they were all so different - and fascinating).

So although I don't know one, whether woodchucks chuck wood, or two how and how much if they do, I know a lot about woodpiles in the Swiss alps!