22 November 1963

If you were alive then you remember this.

Sharp Shinned Hawk

This is not a great picture, but this guy landed on fence of the dogpen right outside the family room window. Since I hurriedly took the photo through doublepane glass at dusk, I am surprised it turned out as good as it did.
The trouble with these beautiful birds is that they kill other beautiful birds (Songbirds). We have so many bluebirds, cardinals, finches, etc that I have seen this guy lurking around all summer. He almost landed on my shoulder the other morning when I was out walking in camo coveralls.

Brother Skunk Updated

I did a video (below) of brother skunk on the 19th of September and thought the worst thing I had to worry about was dancing around him when I went to get the paper. About a week ago I was going to plant some trees and blackberry bushes that I had purchased. When I went to get a bag of topsoil out of the shed behind the garage, I noticed something had burrowed underneath the garage. I reached for the bag of topsoil, and brother skunk crawled out. The time for dancing was over and a quick sprint was in order. Thankfully, I was not sprayed.




I set a trap out for several nights and this morning when I checked, this is what I saw. My dilemma changed from dancing around brother skunk to what to do with a caged brother skunk.



I called the dog warden and he said he didn't dispose of skunks. He said that I could call a professional firm, but it would probably cost $150-$200. He advised me to dispose of him myself. He gave the following instructions. First get an old blanket and throw it over the cage. Allow some time for the skunk to get use to it. Then, gently lift the cage into the back of a truck and take the skunk out to a remote area and release it. I asked what was the possibility of being sprayed. He said that if I was gentle and lucky, that I should be alright.
I successfully followed his instructions and brother skunk now has a new very remote home. I hope he has a long happy life - at his new home.