Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Thu, Mar 18 2004
Ermy And Stripe
I loved Weasel Words, shared by Stu Savory. We had difficulties along the same line when my husband attempted to use a live trap to catch gophers. It turns out that the size of trap we purchased would also accommodate a curious young skunk who'd been digging under the backyard fence. It seems that it's very easy to get a skunk to go into a trap. What's not so easy is getting them out. We were eventually instructed by wildlife experts to put a piece of damp burlap over the bulk of the cage and slide the door up and then step (way) back and let Stripe come out on his own. This worked well, and Stripe went right back under the fence and left. Hubby reset the trap. We had a basic repeat of the whole event, with Stripe waddling away more slowly this time. We decided to try one more time. We woke at 7 a.m. the next morning to that familiar scent that makes your nostrils sting for two days afterward. By the time hubby got his pants on and went out to take care of things, Stripe had gone to sleep in the trap and woke up and looked at us as though room service was late. After another careful application of burlap and tender release, hubby ended up burying stakes beneath the fence to prevent any more intrusions into the yard. About a week later we learned that a neighbor had caught our little intruder much the same way we had, and had loaded Stripe, trap and all, into his pickup for a release somewhere in the woods of Santa Cruz County. So Stripe's probably still wild and free, even though he seemed to have other ideas about the way skunks are meant to live.
posted at: 09:34 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
I loved Weasel Words, shared by Stu Savory. We had difficulties along the same line when my husband attempted to use a live trap to catch gophers. It turns out that the size of trap we purchased would also accommodate a curious young skunk who'd been digging under the backyard fence. It seems that it's very easy to get a skunk to go into a trap. What's not so easy is getting them out. We were eventually instructed by wildlife experts to put a piece of damp burlap over the bulk of the cage and slide the door up and then step (way) back and let Stripe come out on his own. This worked well, and Stripe went right back under the fence and left. Hubby reset the trap. We had a basic repeat of the whole event, with Stripe waddling away more slowly this time. We decided to try one more time. We woke at 7 a.m. the next morning to that familiar scent that makes your nostrils sting for two days afterward. By the time hubby got his pants on and went out to take care of things, Stripe had gone to sleep in the trap and woke up and looked at us as though room service was late. After another careful application of burlap and tender release, hubby ended up burying stakes beneath the fence to prevent any more intrusions into the yard. About a week later we learned that a neighbor had caught our little intruder much the same way we had, and had loaded Stripe, trap and all, into his pickup for a release somewhere in the woods of Santa Cruz County. So Stripe's probably still wild and free, even though he seemed to have other ideas about the way skunks are meant to live.
posted at: 09:34 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
