One More "Kitten" or is it two?

This is a little song by Janeen Brady. It's called "I Thought It Was a Kitten." I didn't get copyright permission to share it, so I hope she won't mind a bizarre form of appreciation.

"Well I thought it was a kitten with a stripe down it's back.
And it looked so pretty sittin', shiny white, shiny black.
Thought that it might like to play, so I grabbed it by the tail.
I think that I've been skunked. Can you tell?"

I learned this song as a kid and every once in a while it pops into my head. It's been running on a constant cycle lately. Here's why:




Yep! This little fellow has been letting us share a yard with it. We've been grateful that it's been so kind. It first showed up on Tuesday afternoon last week. It was still here when we got back from Sun Valley last Saturday. We saw it daily. After reading this on the Colorado State University's Extension website, I hardly wanted to let the kids outside!
Skunks are nocturnal and reclusive. Use extra caution if you encounter a skunk during the day or one that is extremely aggressive. This abnormal behavior may indicate that the animal is rabid. The occurrence of rabid skunks appears highest from February to May, when they breed and give birth to their young.

On Tuesday, Chad's business partner lent him a .22 rifle. They came in the morning when I told them I saw it out front, but gave up after about 10 minutes of searching. I called Chad around 4:30 that afternoon and told him I could currently see it. I stood outside in the hot sun and kept my eyes trained on the tall weeds where the skunk foraged. We flushed it out and Chad got 2 practice shots at it before we lost it in the pasture. We tried to get Chocolate in on the fun. (See how we're willing to sacrifice the dog?) We gave up after 20 minutes of skunk huntin'. We saw it in the backyard that evening but by the time Chad got the rifle ready, it had given us the slip again! Close to 20 minutes later, I saw it in the front yard. (By now it's 9:30 PM.) Chad took several more practice shots, convinced the skunk to fill the air with a nice perfume and eventually hit it. He buried it in the pasture.

I was so relieved! And then I was disappointed the next morning when I saw a skunk leaving the garden area and head into the tall grass. I even called Chad to confirm that he actually buried the pest! So we have more than one skunk.

I had just bought a BB/Pellet gun at Wal-Mart that day, but by the time I opened it up, got the lock off and figured the whole thing out, the stinker was gone (pun intended). Then Nathan saw it again just as we were finishing up dinner. I grabbed the gun and loaded the pellets. I, too, took some practice shots. It seemed that my last pellet hit the creature, but it was in tall grass and I wasn't sure. It kept getting up and down. Then it really decided to get up. But I was out of pellets and by the time Chad could bring me more, it was under the lilac bush. I was in the sprinklers trying to see it! And that is where the story ends.

We had to load up into the van to get to Pack Meeting (Daniel's first cub scout meeting). We haven't seen the skunk since. I wonder if I really did hit it? I keep trying to get Chad to get under the lilac bush and see, but he's not very obedient!

It's just another exciting adventure in country living!

Totally switching gears with no segue at all...I did finish those long ago mentioned curtains for the dining room. I hung them the night before Daniel's baptism (two weeks ago). Here they are. I have plans to paint the walls there a coordinating/light green. It hasn't happened yet, as you can see. They look mostly how I planned. This is an afternoon shot, so everything is really bright.