I'm a Little Smelly Skunk

My husband decided I had slept long enough last night, so at 3 in the morning he woke me up with "Do you smell skunk?"

(This is what passes for romance around here--instead of breakfast in bed and a kiss, I get do you smell skunk.  My life is very, very sexy.)

Anyway, I did not, in fact, smell skunk, and even if I did, I have no concerns about it because A) said skunk was not in my bedroom, and B) I wasn't sleeping outside.  So skunk or no, unless that sucker aimed his tail right through my bedroom window and directly at my previously sleeping face, it wasn't going to effect me. 

I said no, and rolled over to go back to sleep.  But--wouldn't you know it--two minutes later I DID smell skunk, nice and potent too.  Right outside the bedroom window, right where it belongs (as opposed to IN the bedroom, which would be a cause for alarm).  I quickly changed my answer to "yes, I smell skunk" ( I strive to be as acurate as possible you know), rolled over in the direction away from the window, and put the blanket over my nose to go back to sleep.

We've had run-ins with skunks before.  Personally, I ran over one (without killing it--it went under the car and never touched the tires.  It was fine and ran off into the woods.) back when we lived in the 'burbs, and it skunked the car up but good.  While we've been here, a skunk has stunk up in front of our bedroom windows a couple of times, usually in the fall.  So I'm no stranger to it.  Honestly, though I'd never buy a perfume called Eau de Skunk, I don't think it's the WORST smell in the world.  I think it ranks up there with rutting buck, kinda musky and dirty and dark.  It's not lovely, and no thank you to getting sprayed, but when compared to, say, mouldering garbage heap or septic tank, skunk is not too bad at all.  Plus, the little boogers are kinda cute.  Just sayin'.

Anyway, back to the skunk.  The outside of the house smelled, and it came inside, but as nothing inside was effected, there was no cause to worry.  When I woke up at 5:30 to milk I took some extra precautions to be sure I wouldn't startle the skunk when I went outside with the milk pails, and I was off and running.  Oddly enough, when I went out the back door, the smell was out there, too.  I said good morning to Saracat, thought "That was one scared skunk", and went about it.  But then I got to the garage.  And the smell was in there, too.  Hmmmm.....

I quickly looked around.  The smell was pretty potent.  Very strong, in fact.  I thought that possibly the skunk had come in through the cat door.  Whoo boy.  Would the skunk bother Saracat's kittens?  Would it be near the feed?  I tried not to make any noise, just in case it was already scared and would spray me if it got scared further.  The smell got stronger.  It seemed to be right near me.  I s-l-o-w-l-y turned and...

...there was Saracat.

Put this one together yet?

Seems, Saracat, in her midnight ranging, met up with a striped fellow or gal who didn't like her and well, now Saracat is, um, fragrant.  As to her partner in crime, Milo?  Seems Milo (Thor's brother) met the same striped guy.  He smells very nice as well.

And that's my story.  Saracat and Milo will have to smell like skunk for a while, but are no worse the wear otherwise.  I think it will make it more difficult for them to hunt, but as they get fed by us as well, they will live.  In Milo's case, the worst outcome of this is that NO ONE will pet him, because no one will while he smells like that.  But he will live.  And when he de-stinkifies we will pet him again.

Ah yes.  The joys of living with wildlife.  Can't beat it, folks.  You absolutely can't.

I'm a little smelly skunk

Sleeping under someone's bunk

Nobody will sleep with me

'Cause I'm as smelly as can be