Could this be a meteorite hole ?

[Lee M]

Blimey, bit of a hefty calibre if so

[Ben_Jim]

Time to get the time team in it looks like you might have roman tiles in the second picture

Jim

[Ben_Jim]

Looks like a rat hole to me, and right under the bird feeder

Jim

[Sp@ce_d]

But why no sign of excavation debris around the hole.. surely if it had been dug out by something there would have been signs of disturbance?

[Paul M]

Looks like a Cosmic Worm Hole connecting our universe to some other universe. They are created by Naked Singularities travelling at relativistic speeds. The diameter of the roughly circular patch of melted snow is inversely proportional to the Electrostatic Charge of the Singularity and therefore the temporal dysfunction of the Schwarzschild Radius.

At the moment of impact there is often a brief burst of Hawking Radiation. This is what melts the snow.

We get them all the time. Worse than moles....

But putting science aside for a minute. I'd be making sure I knew where my gas and electric services are before digging too far!

You just never know, there might be a simpler cause

[twintin]

I agree with the rat hole. We have a near identical one in our flower bed. Just over 2 inch and deeper than a 4 ft garden cane! The little [removed word] drives my lurchers mad popping out and stealing birds food just the other side of the patio doors

[r3i]

But why no sign of excavation debris around the hole.. surely if it had been dug out by something there would have been signs of disturbance?

At our last house, there were a few holes in our garden created by field voles and there were no obvious signs of excavation debris, so I wouldn't rule out some kind of creature involvement.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Could be a wasps nest........well the entrance to a nest.

[JamesF]

If that's a wasp nest I'd sell the house and move, now

James

[Ganymede12]

I didn't think that Meteorites fell fast enough to create a hole.

Put an end to our misery and just dig for it!

[Moonshane]

Where's your rotary dryer gone?

damn it you beat me to it! LOL

[Moonshane]

could this not be the 'out' end of the the rat hole and therefore all the debris is at the other end? maybe an explorer rat with a compass? (hence the magnetism).

other than that, maybe the actor from American Pie has found a new love?