WILDLIFE -- While some ground-dwelling creatures snoose away the winter, others are up for everything from hunting to major construction projects.

Badgers, the middle linebackers of the weasel family, aren't timid about winter when bare ground is available.  Badgers normally eat ground squirrels, gophers and mice, which they often catch in  burrows or tunnels by using their powerful legs to excavate dirt with the efficiency of a backhoe. Badgers also eat birds, carrion and even rattlesnakes.

Washington photographer and guidebook author Alan Bauer of Falls City posted the photo above on his Facebook page as a flashback to a wildlife moment he had on this weekend two years ago.

"Two years ago today I saw my first badger (of the season) out in the late afternoon daylight and spent 30 minutes crawling up a slope from the truck as it kept peeking out of it's burrow after it had retreated there. A great memory from the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area near Wenas, WA! "