The Old Coot lives with
nature, but not well.
By Merlin Lessler
I caught a skunk today. I
was hoping to trap one of the squirrels that moved into the attic space above
our bedroom. I guess they got tired of camping and decided to try “glamping”
for a change by moving in with us.
It’s my second skunk. I
caught the first one almost twenty years ago. It was considerably more docile
than the one I caught today. I covered the trap over that first skunk with a
towel and carried him out to the driveway without any fuss. My smelling
mechanism was tip-top back then so I know for sure the little guy hadn’t
sprayed. I had an old MG with a luggage rack on the trunk so I fastened the
covered have-a-heart trap to the rack and took him for a tour of the village
and out to the countryside. He looked over at me when I pulled off the cover
and opened the door. It wasn’t a mad, I’m going to spray you look; it was a
look of contentment. He slowly sauntered out of the trap and into the woods.
I wasn’t so lucky today;
this skunk was hopping mad. He took one look in my direction and sent a healthy
dose of deodorant into the air. I ran to the garage for an old tarp and tossed it
over him and then went downtown to the Owego Kitchen for coffee with the boys.
I wanted to see if they detected any skunk smell on me. I told them what
happened, but they said I didn’t smell any worse than usual. Maybe a little
better. I don’t have the MG anymore and
I couldn’t risk putting a mad skunk in the car, so I slipped him into a wheel
barrel and gave him a ride to a new home near the river. I used a long stick to
remove the cover and open the trap door. He was still furious, but thankfully
he opted to run for his life rather than take the time to say good-bye and express
his displeasure again.
We’re still working on our
squirrel problem. We’ve trapped a half dozen or so, but their noisy racket in our
bedroom ceiling still wakes us up most nights. Our house is 216 years old and
has spaces you can’t get into, unless you are a squirrel. And, we can’t figure
out how they are getting in there. We’re forced to trap them outside the house and
hope we get the guilty parties. If I had a choice, I’d trade a skunk problem for
a squirrel problem anytime. At least the skunks prefer the great outdoors.
Comments, complaints –
Send to mlessler7@gmail.com
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