This is our resident skunk. She lives under our garden shed. We have not given her a name, even though after all these years, she seems like part of the family. Each year she raises a half-dozen or so babies which she will bestow upon the neighbourhood when she feels the time is right. When that time is right, she will assemble her almost fully-grown brood and they will undulate, like a large, floating, black and white patchwork quilt, across the backyard and into the neighbour's yard and then on to some nether world; we know not where.
Somehow they will become separated. She will manage to elude them all and return to her home-sweet-home which she will have all to herself again. Amazingly, her offspring never seem to remember the way back. They seem unable to retrace their steps by following her scented trail. She has been doing this for years. We admire her pluckiness but keep her exploits to ourselves (until now, I suppose).
Our paths seldom cross. She is nocturnal. We are diurnal. When we do get too close for her comfort, there is a great stamping of feet, polka-like pivoting, flinging of her tail up over her back, and a beady stare and snort. All of which serves to remind us that we do not enjoy absolute sole ownership of this little plot of garden. How dare we!
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
BarrytheBirder Photo
1 comment:
I envy you. Only one summer we had the honor of having a skunk and her family visit our yard a couple nights.
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