Bill McAneny of T'burg said: "As I exited my front door this a.m. the first thing to strike my senses was the pungent aroma of a skunk. How much I have missed it! How often has anyone ever made THAT kind of remark?"
Lots of bare ground here in Union Springs with 38 deg. temps since Fri. evening plus some rain & snow spits this afternoon. Now 40 deg..... our cat can't decide if he wants to be in .... or out. As Garrison Keillor once said on Prairie Home Companion, "A cat is a cat!" A dark colored robin graced our grassy lawn today. Yesterday, Becky & I saw robins in Cayuga. Bill, for 5 yrs. I hand fed a wild skunk who was pals with our cat for at least 6 yrs.. She brought her babies to feed from the food dish by the back door & get water from the bowl (an emesis basin!). They, in turn, apparently brought their babies. Many had very unusual patterns so they were easily recognizable. Skunkie never raised her tail to us nor did certain others but, with a few, all I had to do was tap on the window & the tail would go up! Those were ones I saw scrapping with her & figured they were males. We never tried to pet her. She loved cheese & milk & cooked corn ... & cookies, chocolate chip, preferred. I teased her one afternoon with cheese & she climbed up on my lap to eat it. Other skunks vied for her food. We watched them pushing & shoving & heard lots of "name calling" but never was there any spraying or active meanness. I could call her & she would come. After a couple yrs. I came to the conclusion that any tail raising or foot stomping was done by the males. Wish some authority could verify that. (Where is Prof. Eph Palmer when I need him??) Often I'd get skunks in my live trap. Gently talking to them I could approach & feed them cheese or cookies. Some had to be dumped, shaken out of the trap. Some were obviously not friendly because the tail would go up so I'd approach with a tarp in front of me to cover the trap, all the time talking & making no sudden movements. I'd use a stick to prop open the door & they'd scurry away. Some I caught more than once. The year Skunkie died after being hit by a car, a neighbor caught 10 skunks & carried them all out into the country to release. I missed them because they ate Jap beetle & potato beetle larvae all yr.round, if the ground would soften a bit in the winter. Very useful animals, unlike rabbits, chucks, squirrels, chipmunks, mice & deer! Did we have skunk odor wafting about? Yes. Didn't bother us unless it was really close. The spray mist can float for up to 1/2 mi. & on a humid night actually stick to your hair. Some vinegar mixed with a couple drops of dish detergent & some water, if you don't have hydrogen peroxide, usually gets rid of the odor. Tomato juice is useless. Google "how to get rid of skunk odor" to get the formula. Fox urine smells like skunk, too!! People must remember that skunks have superb sense of smell & hearing but very poor eyesight so if you see one, just talk to it & if out walking at night, scuff you shoes on the ground so they will have time t get out of your way. If you are foolish enough to let your dog run free, you deserve what you get & a fenced in yard isn't always enoiugh protection. Oh yes, ..... why are you smelling skunk now? February is when skunks are out looking for mates. If you have bird seed on the ground or an open compost area, they (& possums) will be happy to eat it. With some snow on the ground, skunks are easy to track. John & I are happy to know that someone else likes the whiff & to know these helpful creatures are out & about. Fritzie -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
