Well the skunks are back, Megan’s mom got up around 1:30 am one morning and looked out her door and there was a skunk eating the left over cat food. Seems it likes the brand we buy. The neighbors still has our trap and caught and disposed of one more. That I believe makes 7 skunks gone since December. Now it is March 24th about 9:30 at night, Megan and I come home from our weekly get together with friends at the Pig Farm. We watch survivor and American Idol etc... show's on the big screens. This place the Pig Farm started years ago by our neighbor as a club house for the guys. It has been remodeled into a very nice I would say 20 X 25 foot club house with a kitchen net at the back end with a bathroom. Anyhow we do a lot of things there mainly watch the reality shows and play cards. This particular night I told Bill (who owns the Pig Farm) that I needed my trap back as we had spotted a skunk eating the cat food. I told him I would get it tomorrow as it was dark and I did not want to find it then. So Megan and I head home. Well at the farm we have an old garage that holds the gas lawnmowers and gardening tools. This has become Fred our 20 lb cat’s home since we moved down and every night we lock him in there so he won’t wander off or get hit on the road. As we pull in where we park the pickup I let Megan out first so she does not have to worry about tripping over the tractor which is parked next to the pickup. As she is getting a sack out of the back seat of the truck I see a skunk come running out of the garage where Fred sleeps. I hollered at Megan so she could see the skunk. I park the truck, run another sack from the back of the truck to the house grab the only two 410 shotgun shells I could find,the 410 shotgun and my spot light as I had an idea the skunk ran into my irrigation pipe. I cautiously looked in one end of the pipe and could see Pep Pee La Pew at the other. I had two pieces of pipe stuck together so I pulled them apart to make it easier to get at this guy. I picked the pipe up on my end so the skunk would have to slide out of the pipe on the other end. If you have ever tried to hold a pipe 25 ft long high enough in the air in one hand a shotgun in the other and hope you could see with the spot light laying on the ground, this is very cumbersome to say the least. I can hear the skunk clawing up to my end of the pipe so I hoist it almost vertical in the air from my end but did not see the skunk. So I set down the shot gun and pick up the spot light bring the pipe down so I can shine it in the end, yep the skunk is still in there, so I pick up the shot gun rest the pipe on my shoulder and shine the light at his end. I drop the pipe so it bounces on the ground hoping to bounce the skunk out. It did not work so then I see that I have put his end next to a valve and he can’t get out of it. I thought of just point the barrel down the pipe and shooting it, but this is old PVC pipe and it would probably not be good for irrigating anymore. I pick the pipe up as high as I can and drop it again in the dirt. I shine my light down the pipe and I can see the spray heading my direction so I quickly put it down. When the fog cleared, I was fortunate not to have the stench on me; I looked again and he was gone. I searched the field but could not see the little stinker again. At least not to night, tomorrow I will get the trap and we will see if it comes back and I can entice it into the trap to be disposed of someplace away from the house. Some day I am going to be a great trapper, like Jim Bridger, Liver Eating Johnson and the rest. I watched one of the survival shows and they caught a skunk in a snare, then they had the courage to eat it. I don’t think I will do that; I can eat a lot of strange things but skunks defiantly not going to be one. Stay tuned for more adventures of Life on the Farm.

Wild Animals on the farm

Did I tell you we are into skunk hunting down here on the farm? Well it is pretty exciting you know. I knew there were dangers in skunk hunting so I take ever precaution when perusing those stinking little varmints. We have captured and disposed of 5 skunks since I have been here, 4 at the neighbors where we have them on video tape coming out from under a house and going into the trap. It is kind of neat, but getting them out of the trap can be a problem. In comes the Calvary, the county has a lady that all she does is dispose of skunks in peoples traps. She does not haul them off anywhere she just disposes of them right where the trap is next to his house. Boy is that a delightful aroma for a few days. There is no special way to dispose of them no matter what technique you use something is going to stink. I prefer to catch mine out in the field way behind the house for disposing. The other night I was irrigating and went to check on the water, now I should have known to take the 410 shotgun with me but did not think about it. as I am traveling down a boarder checking on the progress of the water I noticed eye shinning in my head lights. I sped up to see what it was and low and behold three skunks were running away from me. The adrenalin started to pump the gas started to flow into the carburetor on my four wheeler and the chase was on for about 10 yards when I remember I did not have the 410 with me only a shovel and I could not swing it as I am right handed and the gas is on the right hand side so I was doomed to be sprayed if I were to actually catch the slowest of the three so I backed off and watched them fat little bodies run. I went back out later and took the 410 with me but of course I did not see any skunks again. Now I have to get my trap back from the neighbor as they are all on our farm now and trap here. Did you know that the skunks down here like Louisiana Hot Sauce covered Sardine’s? That seems to be the bait of choice. We tried everything else but the like the hot sauce. I will keep you all posted on my hunting adventures of the skunks as I get better at it. Stay tuned for more Skunk Hunting on the Farm.