8.28.2010

An unexpected visitor...

So I was wondering what I was going to blog about today...
when God brought us a visitor...

Kaylee, Noah & I were in the back yard sitting in a circle playing Hot Potato (literally, potato - going around the circle - laughing and singing Phinneas and Ferb)... when I see something on the patio which is about, oh 5 feet from where we are sitting. Immediately I tell the kids to quickly get up and move to the back of the yard not running, but fast and quiet. They jumped up with no question...and after getting to the back of the yard they whispered, "What is that mom?" Well, it's a...

Yep. It's a skunk.
It waddled across the patio to the side of our house and then waddled back and forth along that side of the house for a while. Steve was upstairs trying to nap, when he finally slid the window open wondering what on earth was going on. Immediately he came down to check it out - and it was also the perfect time for me to run in to get the camera...

The kids knew that the skunk could spray 15 feet or more (thanks Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman on PBS), so we were for sure keeping more than that distance, and that wasn't a problem.

I tried Animal Control and Humane Society, but they didn't answer, and then from my phone found that no one in Salem does "free" wildlife removal. (I called the one suggested service and it was a $120 visit and $65/animal trapped.) So, hmmmm. We'll just watch and see what he does instead (we assumed it was a "he.") The neighbors across the street saw us watching so they came to join in the entertainment --- only to find that this little guy (or a relative) was at their parent's house (which is about 2 blocks away) just yesterday.

While we are watching and trying not to get "too" close, he was munching away on the remnants of a cheese stick wrapper.
Walking back and forth and back and forth kept us on our toes.
Steve would get adventurous and then conservative... it was tempting because this little guy literally had NO fear of people, daylight, noises, etc. While we wondered if he was a pet, the reality that he could be one of who knows how many was also dancing in our heads as well.
We're not sure what he was looking for. He truly walked the entire perimeter of our house - including the front yard and under the van and cars to around the sides...and of course he came from the far side when he started.
Then he checked out the back yard and the former tadpole pond and then back towards the front of the house again...
Then...he walked through the neighbor's yard, and around the corner where there was a street full of kids playing, so we passed on the info to the parents on the street, and more onlookers joined the club. One guy is determined to catch him. He was much bolder than we were... when our little friend went under the fence of our next door neighbors yard...

We came inside for dinner...got everything just about ready when Noah tells us our friend is back in our back yard... and I was able to get this... (video is coming...)



About 30 minutes later we saw the brave neighbor walking around the lots behind our house looking for our friend. He's convinced he's one of a family where mama is probably gone. He's also committed to trapping him...although I did see him once do a motion for swinging the little guy over his head by the tail and flinging him into more empty-to-be-developed lots another street away. Who knows? Here's what I know... for the next couple of days --- I'm checking outside very carefully before I head out...and I'm pretty sure the windows are staying CLOSED!!! So weird.

Have you ever had a close-encounter with wildlife at your house like this???


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P.S. Karston & Kynzi came over tonight for a little while too (no skunk in sight then...) and I couldn't help but snap these pics showing just one little difference between the boys and the girls. I love em all!!!

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