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I am Sandra - faithful steward. listener. shepherd. dream believer. hard worker. collects brass bells, boots. Jesus follower. contented. star gazer. homemaker. farmer. prayer warrior. country woman. reader. traveler. writer. homebody. living life large.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Nocturnal Visitors

 It's difficult to tell but there are four rather beady eyes peering at the camera. It wasn't so bad when it was just one, the full grown skunk with a broad splash of white on her (as I've since discovered) back. Now she's bringing the family. 
 Yes, the skunk family has moved to Thistle Cove Farm. The dogs and I are awake sometime between 5 and 5:30 each morning (unless I've had to take meds to stem pain from whatever farm chores I've been doing) and I've known about the mama skunk for a while. So have Sadie and Sam -wry grin-. They both have been sprayed but at enough of a distance, they didn't stink too badly. Not as badly as they could have smelled had they been sprayed by a few feet.
 Skunks are able to spray about ten feet or three meters; rather impressive, I think. This mother and her baby are now wandering around the yard while another skunk, perhaps the male...???... is a few feet away. The other one is almost all black and impossible for me to capture with the camera unless I want to get very close which...I do not. As it is, I'm talking quite low and calming as I take these pictures; no need to upset anyone, me included!
 Sadie and Sam know to keep away from the white striped skunk but the almost all black skunk presented something new to investigate. Which, Sadie did although she was warned, repeatedly, not to investigate. She slobbered for several hours as she rolled around on the ground, trying to rid herself of the stench. I believe she caught most of the spray in her mouth; so glad it wasn't her eyes. Sam and Sophie watched at a respectful distance, both the initial skunk investigation and subsequent slobbering.
I'd love to capture them in a Havaheart trap and release them at a neighbors house (not saying which one as Daddy John likes to read this blog and I'd like the release to be a surprise...if it happens). My girlfriend said if the trap doesn't work a 12-guage shotgun works just dandy but, sap that I am, I don't want to kill them, just relocate them. 

What suggestions do you have? 

Blessings ~ I don't mind the smell of skunk spray, it reminds me of petroleum ~ I wasn't sprayed ~ cuteness ~ 

19 comments:

  1. Poor stubborn Ridgeback Sadie!

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  2. My dogs learned to stay back after first encounter. Today I was at Walmart and in their boating section dept. of sporting goods I notice 2 sizes of air horns. Wonder if one of those would scare them off. Or how about some pepper spray, don't know what the range is on it, but hey turnabout is fair play right?

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  3. Sorry, but I'm a shoot'em kinda gal. I don't like fighting for the same hill twice. ~:)

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  4. Dear One,

    Skunks have there place in the world....i just don't know what it is.

    When I smell their smell in the air I always think of when i was a little girl going visiting my Grandparents. It's a good memory.

    Sweet blessings to you,
    d

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  5. Oh wow, all I can say is -- better you than me!! No clever ideas for skunk ridding here, I'm sorry. Maybe put down a nice trail of skunk treats, all the way to your neighbor's house? hahaha :)

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  6. My dogs have never learned to leave a skunk alone. The shotgun works for me.

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  7. Oh, nooo! You, too? A skunk family has moved in beneath our garden shed. Cute little things. And not so dumb, huh? Lots of nice veggies and grubs and bugs and stuff just outside their 'door' and the little creek behind the fence. The .22 would have been out a long time ago except that we live a block within the city limits where gun use is prohibited. So far, we have stuffed ammonia soaked rag balls into their den; scattered citrus peels/rotting fruit from the trees around the outside of the den and along the garden rows. They have not left yet, but we have not given up. HOWEVER, we are being veeeery careful about wandering in the den area from dusk until the sun is well up. :-)
    Hope you have quick success with your 'family,' especially with all your dogs around. Yikes!

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  8. wow, how intriguing.... :)

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  9. What a dear woman you are, Sandra, for not wanting to shoot them. I wouldn't either, but of course we don't have skunks in Australia so I've never had to live with them. I don't think I've even seen one in a zoo here! Peppy le Peu (spelling?) was my education on skunks!

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  10. no clue how to move them, maybe call a wildlife rescue place and ask if they have any suggestions on how to do it. i could not kill them either

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  11. Those are days I remember well.
    My Thor went after the Porcupine,
    and the skunk. Both were when I had
    house quests. I had no idea they sprayed 10 feet. Thor got it in the face. Years ago at our Farm, I was all dressed up to go to the airport, as i put my nite case in the car a Skunk was about 4 feet from me. I just slowly backed out.
    Was that Luck?

    yvonne

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  12. Trouble with shooting a skunk - you CAN get the terminal spray and it is a baddie! Worst part of having skunks nearby - other than obvious issue of horrendous odor - is they often carry rabies -a greatly feared issue here in Texas.
    Sadie - you remind me of me - I far too often re-investigate situations I truly know aren't good for me!

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  13. they are cute-great photos-but the are a pest too-we have them here in our woods too-we usually work at getting along with all the "neighbors" but sometimes if they get into too much mischief we need to decide how to proceed

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  14. Not too many skunks around our place, but we had a raccoon mama and baby stopping by, nursing, and shading themselves under the eaves on the roof one day this week...left that night, though. I've heard skunks smell like lemon to some people, but I only get that faintly. Cute photos!

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  15. They are cute - especially with their eyes lit up!

    No, I have no suggestions, except make a novena to St. Francis??

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  16. Just love them as part of nature. Seriously, you know you're not going to relocate them.

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  17. I'm sorry not to have a suggestion for you. Skunks have occasionally visited here, and Piper invited one onto the porch for a game of poker a while back (Piper lost), but I haven't had a repeat visitor or (thank goodness) a family. All my animal feed is in metal barrels and I keep the eggs picked up promptly in the Poultry Palace, so I think there are easier ways for a skunk to make a living elsewhere.
    I hope you get some good advice!

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  18. I've only seen skunks in our vicinity once, and never owned a dog that tangled with one. It was only recently on another blog that I learned how much their white markings could vary; before I thought they came in one standard pattern. God's creativity at work again!

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  19. Vic, unfortunately Sophie is a slow learner.

    TL, air horns might be a good idea, thanks!

    Sparky, LOVE IT!

    Miss D...love what you said...so true!

    MK, I'd love for the skunks to move away...soon!

    Gumbo, and I've got a shotgun!

    Lindah, skunks are wiley creatures, aren't they?

    Vilisi, yes and smelly as well!

    Well Carol...that was then and this is now...I still don't want to shoot them but am willing to pay to have it done...sigh.

    Sandra, there's no such thing as a wildlife rescue center around here. If I called the law, they'd say shoot it.

    Yvonne, I tend to believe in God more than luck.

    LindaSue, it's a bad situation all the way 'round.

    Kathy, am ready for them to move away...sooner the better!

    Linda, I could like smelling lemons; wish skunks smelled like lemons to me but they don't.

    Lisa, yes, they are cute and especially cute from a distance.

    Marsha, I may move them to the landfill; they should be happy there.

    Quinn, they aren't eating cat food, they are eating grubs, ants, etc.

    Michelle, some of these skunks are almost all white, others almost all black and others are more evenly mixed.




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