Skunk-A-Rama!
On April 18, 2016 by Speranza
Today I got up especially early, almost dawn, poured myself a cup of steaming coffee and went outside to do some serious gardening; just picking up sticks and clearing away leaves and winter debris, (what my British father used to call “pottering”) but it’s very meditative, mind clearing, solitary work.
And I look forward to doing it.
I’ve never had good luck with Columbine planting although I try each year (I especially love the deep black ones and in this regard, my good friend Jinny is my dealer, since each spring she cheerfully provides me with a few more, judgement-free, from her own pristine garden).
I’m also not the most skilled at remembering exactly where I planted them either but last year I made a special effort to make a Columbine ‘grove’ near my back deck which would be hard to miss.
So this morning, I was on my hands and knees carefully pushing leaves aside looking for the tell-tale leaf shape when my eye caught sight of a tiny pointed face regarding me thoughtfully through the diamond shape of the lattice fence which surrounds the lower deck, perhaps five inches away from me. The first thought I had was: here is a kitten with the face of an angel and oh, what an exotic cat he will be one day! Two bright black eyes, full of intelligence watching my every back and forth move with interest, his heart-shaped face slightly tilted as he regarded me.
Actual length of time from complete awe to realization = three seconds.
But as you may have realized, this was not, in fact, a cat and I sprinted away cartoon-like, almost in mid-air, coffee and secateurs flying. He did not spray though and I had the very clear impression that he’d just gone back to bed, still in his striped pajamas.
There have been many generations of skunks under that deck so I don’t know what I was thinking to be surprised but really, they are very discreet animals and certainly don’t bother anyone.
At one stage (mostly at the insistence of well-meaning people who were constantly intoning darkly about “once they get in …”) I tried to barricade the entry point but I was so worried that they might still be ‘home’ so I just stopped thinking about it. And it’s been fine.
Plus, The Current Resident absolutely earned his keep last year when he very cleanly removed – sans cost and unwanted pesticide intervention – a massive yellow jacket colony that had been built in between the crevices of rocks around my backyard pond like a chic Chicago high-rise. Apparently, the larvae are like candy to a skunk and the deep, telltale burrowing claw marks that (like the wasp nest) were there one day and not the next, proved that the liberator was none other than one of our masked tenants.
This was such a huge relief to me I really felt like a good friend had done some renovating for free.
After I had recounted this excitement to The General (who, it must be said was not nearly as enchanted as I was but made a good show of listening and nodding brightly) he made us a splendid breakfast (Eggs Benedict, but substituting grilled trout for the ham) which we ate greedily outside in the sunshine with more hot coffee. Amazing!
I feel quite sure that this is all I really need for a perfect day.
Yes, tis skunk season. My wife suggest saturating rags in ammonia and placing them where the skunks are. We have been doing this for years and it seems to just move them to a new nearby home.