In the spirit of my friend Barb's call for tenders to write something about our neck of the woods which , although commonplace for us , folks from other parts of the globe might find interesting.
In late March , 2007.... almost a year ago .... at 1 ; 30 in the morning we heard someone outside yelling " blue murder " so I immediately ran to the front door , flicked on the outdoor floodlghts and went out on the verandah to see what the hullaballoo was all about. Now we live on a short , deadend road ...... a gully no more no less... with two houses of which ours marks the cul-de-sac and nobody ever comes here unless lost or given specific directions. We are hard to find !!
Anyways now back to the story. As I opened the door I spotted three silhouettes , one of whom was a bit farther ahead of the others and heard him warning the others behind him in a loud voice , " Tabernaque ! Sacrons notre camp d'ici... il y a des mouffettes !! " " Damn it all !! Let's get the hell out of here .... there are some skunks !" I laughed as they scampered back up the hill a bit to safety and gave them the right directions to get home as they were lost.
As for the skunks ... well Fluff had already mentioned seeing and hearing them earlier that same week pitching woo and making whoopie out on the snowbank in the backyard. Now I knew that skunks mated in late March and during the month of April ... but usually in the privacy of their Winter dens only....... never out in publc for all to see. Habitually skunks emerge from quasi hibernation in late April or early May when they are seen foraging for food. To shorten a long story Pepé Le Pew and wife became regular visitors at our patio door from that night on .
Just a few words about the skunk from personal knowledge... they stink !! REALLY STINK !! Should you ever get showered by Pepé and you wash your clothes in " wonderful Ivory Snow " or aything else... even the mythological tomato juice ... it will resurface when you least expect it . How many popular kids in my school came to class wearing duds laundered after a skunk encounter ...... only to find themselves outcasts and shunned on rainy , damp , muggy days !!! Nevertheless , I find them beautiful to look at from a certain distance ... the perfect white " Y " from head to buttocks..... plus the flashy tail.... and such fine , glossy fur. .... and delicate facial features .......makes you want to stroke it !! In the top picture you can see both Pepé and the wife with tails up in full array...... now the only times skunks raise their tails in this fashion is when they feel endangered or when they are sexually aroused. So take your pick !!
yes, the skunks are very beautiful to look at.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely little animals - perhaps it is just as well that they stink, at least they are protected. We don't have them in Switzerland.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a skunk in real life and I do not think I would want to do that from what you told me about how they STINK LOL. I always known that of course but it seem to be very hard to get rid of that smell if you get showered.
ReplyDeleteNice photos and an interesting and funny post! LOL
(I see to the right, an ad about skunks just now as I read this lol. It's funny how they change the ads to the subject you read about!
"Tomahawk Skunk Traps. Mfg Deluxe Skunk Traps since 1925. Huge selection of Skunk Traps. www.tomahawklivetrap.com"
I know you and Fluffy will NOT get a trap as you both are such nice animal-friends =o)
They are such a pretty animal but never good to have them around. Here where I live many of them have rabies. They are a danger. If we ever see one during the day, you know they are sick. And usually act sickly.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who once had a baby one that had been de-perfumed. It was adorable. We would give it hamburger & it would roll it into a ball to eat. One day it got loose so he & a friend went looking for it. His friend thought he found it & grabbed it. Oh oh. Wrong baby skunk. Very unpleasant for the poor chap!!!
Yes , " tocontinue" and Tabbynera...... our black and white visitors are cute and truly command both awe and respect !! I lived in Italy and France for many years where folks had heard of our " bête puante " and "puzzone or puzzola " but it was always hard for me to explain to them exactly how awful they smelled up the objects , atmosphere and people within close quarters whenever they let loose.
ReplyDeleteRight you are about Fluff and I wishing to get rid of them , Mona.... they are our neighbours here in the woods. Some flesh and blood human neighbours before them maybe though ! LOL. Just kidding as we have few neighbours and they are all great folks.. And it is so true abot the ads along the margin. Some poor bugger might be recently widowed and writing a blog about how much he misses his dead wife and up pop ads for dating agencies right beside his text !!! Hugs to you and Timmy !
ReplyDeleteJulie - Ann.... never heard of skunks having rabies up this way but our latest batch of " alien raccoons "from Maine , New Hampshire and Vermont" who didn't cross over the border through customs are full of rabies. We know where they come from as they had been tagged. And yes , cute they are !! Even petable !! When kids in my neighbourhood made pets of " doctored" baby skunks they always put a red or green bow around their necks in case they ran off. I'll bet your friend was real popular after that experience !! Hugs !
ReplyDeleteHe was back in the thick of things after soaking in tomato sauce or something!!! If you get too close, it can make you sick. We had one that sprayed quite close to our house & it made me very nauseated.
ReplyDeleteI was once told they throw off that scent also when mating. I never asked the person who said that just how she new. **LOL**
ReplyDeleteJim... were I the person who made that statement I don't think I'd want to tell how I knew either !!
ReplyDeleteJim... maybe filmed with spy camera equipped with built-in " stinkometer "!
ReplyDeleteClarification of reply to Mona... Right you are about our NOT wishing to get rid , etc .... LOL
ReplyDeleteNow that's a camera that should sell well. **LOL**
ReplyDeleteI had a good laugh at the image of the lost souls running for cover when they saw your "Guard-Critter"...worked better than any Doberman!! Great story.
ReplyDeleteThis is soooo true, barely is invisible ink typed into these boxes and whammooo "We have a product for that"...I can almost see some guy far away in India...reading this post and wondering what he can match up to it....then having the almost brilliant light bulb idea of a skunk trap...now my question is this...who is gonna remove that caught skunk?....They smell even worse when they are DEAD, and I dont think live trapping is good option either. I wonder how many skunk traps they will sell...right now the ad Im seeing is "dead animal removers"...OMG
ReplyDeleteI wake up many nites from a terrific smell of a skunk family passing my window. They are attractive critters though
ReplyDeleteIn the 70's there was a club manager who had a small pet skunk (had it descented) It was very cute and playful as he use to bring it to the club.
I just noticed your background. Is this the resident Woodchuck? Very cute whoever it is.
Cindy Anne and Dixxe.... were I a celebrity I would have a "doctored" pet skunk on a leash with me wherever I went . The fact that it be "deskunked" would be known to myself and my vet only ! Bring on the paparazzi !! Fluff has put polecats into my new background... snazzy , eh ?
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