***Or, not everything about spring is good news.
Step outside the milkhouse door. Step out carefully. It is dark. Is anything moving near your feet?
If no, proceed to sweep the barnyard with the beam from your flashlight.
Any telltale bustling humps?
No?
Look carefully. The fresh snow over frozen mud can be deceiving.
Walk a few paces,
Sweep the ground around you with the light.
Walk, sweep, walk, sweep.
Repeat until you reach the back porch and heave a great sigh of relief as you step inside.
Watch the dogs with great care. They are not immune to the menace.
Far from it in fact.
That godawful smell has followed you from where it permeated the barn and environs all night.
You hope the villain hasn't......
The great skunk spawning migration is underway? Izzat whatcher tellin' me?
ReplyDeleteYa need to recruit a Great Horned Owl. Let that skunk step out into the clear just once....
ReplyDeleteI had one in my basement up in the Adirondacks last April. Went down to turn on the pump and water heater and heard a scuttling off to one side. Saw the black-and-white and decided I could wait for hot water! No odor at all.
The dog always precedes me in the dark at calving time.....she wasn't careful enough once.
ReplyDeleteWell, you could have been watching for dog poop as well as looking out for skunks. I just spent the past week dogsitting my daughter's almost grown, very rowdy Bernese Mountain Dog puppies, so doggy poop was the first thing that came to my mind. But yes, the male skunks are prowling about now, hanging around the females' dens in the hope that one will emerge to find her waiting swain.
ReplyDeleteHaven't smelled a skunk since our last visit to the Midwest ... and haven't really missed it. This time of year, we're more concerned about bears coming out of hibernation; "groggy, grumpy and hungry" covers it pretty well.
ReplyDeleteJust in case you need it....the instant cure for skunk smell is a diluted bleach solution. If something gets sprayed, make sure you don't get it wet as that just spreads the oil around. Douse whatever got sprayed with the bleach solution and the smell will be gone.
ReplyDeleteYour comment section is priceless!
ReplyDeleteJune, to my complete and utter dismay....yes....
ReplyDeleteJoated, we used to have some...owls...don't know where they went but they sure did enjoy a nice entree of skunk. I miss them
Linda, our back porch stank for years thanks to a careless pooch...
WW, I think we only have one, but he smells like a hundred! lol
Rev. Paul, gee, maybe I should stop complaining about skunks. lol. Actually though I have started watching for bears. They are becoming more and more common around here as people slow down on hunting and I am just waiting...not eagerly... for one to show up. At least we only have black bears and not the monsters you folks have.
TDD, thank you so much for that tip. I hope I never need it but.....lol
Cathy, it is, isn't it? lol