Skunky

Around dusk on Friday, I smelled skunk. Not uncommon where I work, and I'd smelled it a few times lately. I figured it was on Dummy, the black cat that hangs around my shop. Well, the smell got bastard strong. I saw nothing at first, but turned on some lights and found the skunk, slumped by a mower.

Oddly sleepy skunk, seemed sick or dying.

Before approaching this close with the camera, I rolled a round ball at it, under the length of a flatbed trailer. It seemed barely alert, but the ball did make it stand up and raise its tail a bit. Then it just lay there. I threw half a hot-dog bun at it, another crack shot that nudged right up to the skunk's head. Little effect. I think it finally sniffed the bun.

In this enhanced photo: weird skunk behavior, ball and bun in background

.

Well, it was time to go home. I had planned on ordering Chinese food, but I forgot about that. The smell was quite bad, getting into my office even with the door closed. I finally chased the cat away, so he wouldn't block the skunk from leaving. Then I thought I had a good idea: leaf blower. Lots of dirt and sawdust on the floor would make it an unpleasant whirlwind that might drive the skunk out.

Well, it did make the skunk move. She just scooted under my mower and curled up. I poked the blower nozzle right near the mower deck, but she just hunkered. I just had to leave, but I left the garage door propped up on a brick so she could get out.

Saturday afternoon I checked. She seemed to be gone. But a more thorough search revealed her tucked under a shelf in the next room, right where I have to walk to open the bathroom door.

Well, I have a new roommate. New strategies for the coming week: water hose, lemon juice in squirt gun, hedge-apples rolled into corners, poison, maybe lasso training.

I also might need to get rid of the 20+ gallons of stale popcorn on the floor in a bag that I had been feeding to Dummy.