As I got out of the car to open the gate this afternoon, I noticed that the wind had blown a black, with a bit of white, bit of plastic against the snowbank along the laneway. Perhaps you are seeing where this is going already… but that plastic bag started walking, and waving it’s big tail in the air. SKUNK!!! IN THE YARD!!! Yikes. With three dogs this is a BIG PROBLEM.
We followed the skunk down the laneway from a safe distance. I tried yelling and clapping my hands – it just lifted its tail higher. As we neared the house, it veered off to the right, and slipped along side the snowbank against the house… till it was right under the front deck. From which it did not emerge. Oh dear.
I’ve been watching since and haven’t seen it emerge. Does it have babies down there? How will I know if it has vacated the area unless I stay watching? Meanwhile, the dogs are going crazy as they must have seen it through the window. And I’ve double checked our stock of “Skunk Kleen”.
Creatures emerging from their sleep is a sure sign of spring. Yesterday we saw a scruffy groundhog running across the snow in the backyard, and into the barn. How many days till it is either dead or moved out? When we drove past the river this afternoon I think I saw four or five geese down by the water. If not geese, they were pretty darn big birds with long necks.
Other birds that have long been away are making their appearances. Little sparrows, robins, red-wing blackbirds, and more, are moving back into the area.
The earth reawakens.
An hour later… I looked out the window and saw it on the other side of the laneway, so Carm ran out and started throwing snowballs at it hoping it would leave. Instead, it started running TOWARDS him so after lobbing a few more snowballs at it, Carm ran into the house (dogs are going crazy at this point). It’s just a little scrap of a thing, but sure has the power to make a grown man run!
It went back under the deck… which makes me think there is something down there for it to protect :-(
Reawaken is not always good… if it is a mother skunk. (double check Skunk Kleen… think of a plan b for getting the dogs out… realize there is no plan b… wish the dogs were toilet trained… realize that if there are babies we are screwed.)
Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"
Happily we don't have skunks in Norway.
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