Foxes, and skunks, and birds! Oh my!

[honestchick]

Yesterday there was a skunk in our yard when we arrived home. It scurried over to our back porch area. I think this was the first time I've seen a living skunk in person. A couple of months ago the neighborhood skinny/starving fox walked all the way around our sidewalk then into our yard (as we drove up slowly it was trying to get away from us, but

Comments

[touchofgrey]

D'awwwww! We smell skunks around on occasion, but I've never seen one. I so want to! (Just not too close. ;-) One sprayed our garage one night a long time ago and I have a whole new respect for how potent those cute little things are. I was still smelling it and tasting it for hours after we came back inside.

[honestchick]

It was cute enough, but I know to fear the skunk. :P Did you know that the scent making area that skunks deploy is the same one cats have (I'm pretty sure, but much stronger smell obviously), just the cats get rid of their smell when they poo...which Dora has trouble with sometimes since her hysterectomy. Sometimes her "anal glands" have to be "milked"...the vet in Southern IL offered to teach me how so I could do it myself...I declined. :P It was well worth the $5 to pay to have it done!

When I took a poopy diaper of Will's to the trash can later last night I heard this noise like plastic rustling...until my mind sifted gears and I realized it was a scurrying sound toward the bushes next to the door. I tried to be calm and steady in my pace since I don't want to startle the skunk if that is what it was! :P

[touchofgrey]

"Expressing anal glands." Yeah, ew. I'm happy to let the vet take care of that for me as well. (Male/female cats/dogs. I've never looked into why some need it done for them because I don't want to read the description...)

If you have the skunk's scent glands taken out, I hear they make awesome pets! Somewhere in between a cat and a dog. K and I have talked about getting one for when we go on the road. I imagine a "Caution, skunk inside" sign might protect us better than a guard dog... ;-) (And keep us out of a lot of campgrounds... Maybe the sign would be enough. LOL)

[honestchick]

I can only speak for Dora, but apparently her muscles were cut or something with the hysterectomy and now she has trouble "bearing down" when pooping sometimes which squeezes it out in small amount each time. Yep, one for the professionals. :P

I'm sure a skunk would keep intruders out...as well as friends. ;P