Sunday, October 4, 2009

Opening with a Skunk…..

….rant! I just don’t understand people nonchalantly killing wildlife without good reason. I feel blessed to have skunks coming by and visiting us from time to time. I wouldn’t even mind if one came in the house in a well behaved refined manor.
Skunk’s principle diet consists of insects. All kinds of bugs: the grubs the gophers tunnel lawns for, flies they can reach, ants around the footings of building (house and out), Those diabolical wasps or hornets what nest underground people detest particularly when they’re stung by some. Ants of all kinds what build mounds, a skunk will eradicate one of these high-rise’s no mater how long it takes. And a little scent left behind now and then helps keep more troublesome wildlife pests at bay.
I’ve encountered dozens of skunks. If I had one an uninvited guest, I’d have simply left the exit door open and barricaded the rest. Butt, go ahead and indiscriminately destroy all wildlife about us until we’ve no other life to gauge our own survival to.
I might have laughed, but with a deeper sadness within my heart. Carelessness and thoughtlessness is more dangerous than a passing polecat invading a kitchen. I can appreciate any animal eating anything when it’s hungry, and perhaps trapped inside a house. I’ve eaten a lot of things to know what they are if my survival was dependent upon them in nature’s unexplored bounty.
I dislike a lot of things but understanding their purpose is the only step in the right direction. I have my troubles with raccoons the damage they do to feed in mischief and maybe disease infested orfal leavings. They stay in the woods we have no problems and there’s a lot of them out back. I heard at least six of them just three days ago out there. I also have a dislike to ground hogs in the barnyard and hayfields. As long as the keep to fence lines and windbreaks we’ve no problems. Their undermining skills can sure make a mess of an out building or the damage done to a tractor or finely tuned implement.
But this the first time I’ve rad of somebody out and out killing one to get his home scented.
Fernan
PS: I've only been sprayed once during all the years I have relocated a live trapped skunk from my barn to a known ant hill.
PS: Handy's had visiting his place an old almost all white with a single black striped male skunk friend of mine. This guy is a hoot to watch. This guy hanging around Hand's place helps keep the deer out of his garden.
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In answer to “Hey Fern?”
Oh Lawd, I've been so busy around my Shorthorn country. Have slackened off the last couple days on account of rain. The rain giving me a much needed slow down.
We'd almost had four/five full weeks without and precipitation or is that participation.

Sorry about leaving yours out of the only two sites I look into. There's only so little of me to be everywhere.

Otherwise read me often. I make a journal contribution almost every night. If you do, you'll see where I haven't even given Herr Clink a difficult time ever so lately. Rather unlike me. Ain't nothing I like better than keeping our first and only battle between our sex's going all these years.

Enjoying a bit of rest will be haying again as soon as we have a real hard frost to tone down the alfalfa.
Fernan
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My Day in actuality
What a drippy day. Hold up in the house this AM. Wrote mostly stuff I don't want anybody to read until a hundred years after I'm gone.
How does that old adage go, "If ya can't do it, write it?"
Tried digging out a stump. Dug it full circle and it barely budged. I'm thinking 4-180 with ½” tested chain will uproot it. Called away from my stump I got involved cleaning mower-conditioner and parking it for the winter. Next it were changing drawbar's and putting the big baler away in the winter's shed. Lastly I had my fun getting the predictably notional 951 Ford tractor going again just to drop brush-hog for post-hole digger. Finally I got somebody to listen to me the Ford's starboard side driver-tire's shot. Have no idea why the inner-tube’s sticking out the sidewall and don't blow. It's finally laid up, now, for tire replacement starting tomorrow.
Otherwise quiet peaceful day.
Fernan
BGKC.

2 comments:

Donna. W said...

I don't like skunks that much... woke up one night to hear a guinea squawking and found a skunk after the eggs she was brooding... but one thing I've wondered.

Does it discomfort them to spray? Because back when I was milking in the dark every morning, I've walked within three feet of a skunk, and all he did was threaten.

Paula said...

John never did catch the skunk in the city trap. Hee hee. I say just let them be and stay away from them. I think they are pretty but don't really want Susie with that odor on her. So far she hasn't had any.