Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Muska Muska

I have reached a new depth of understanding regarding skunk kind.

Our resident skunk, who has lived beneathe our shed, and pilfered our unsecured garbage for the last three years is no more. He was struck down untimely by a speeding motorist in front of our house tonite. We arrived home late to find his body lying in the road.

I got a shovel, dug a hole in the woods across the road, and scooped up the carcasse. As I deposited the remains in the small grave, I was afflicted by the true and unmediated smell of skunk musk. Wow! It is remarkably different from the slighty acid scent you get from a distance. This was a thick, oily smell, like the most powerful garlic only intensified manyfold. I smelled clingy and choking and stronger than I had ever experienced it. I now have a much better understanding of how truly awful it must be to be sprayed by a skunk. My respect for them has increased, and my sympathy for his victims.

We are a bit sorry to see him go. He was generally a good neighbor, as skunks go I suppose. He did his skunky thing, and we did our thing and we got along nicely. We feel some anger toward the reckless driver that needlessly mowed him down, nevertheless his departure does solve a problem. We plan to acquire a dog soon, and were not sure how to deal with the meeting that was sure to take place between new dog and old skunk. Now that problem is solved.

1 comment:

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Wow. Right after the skunks. Eerie.