The skunk is dead....

[Lise]

In a sick kind of way, I miss mockingbirds. They are completely absent from this part of Oootah.

Yellow, if I could catch the one in the tree outside BF's bedroom window, I'd ship it to you. In a very humane way that was in full compliance with all federal laws, of course.

J. has threatened to shoot said bird, but it's usually mumbled around 3 AM..."ah'm going to...that bird...shotgun...snoooore" It is rather aggravating. The bird, that is.

I once dated a guy who was an officer in the Chilean navy, and went out to shoot rats in the alley out back of his Chicago apt. He was incensed when I told him it was surely illegal to discharge his firearm in the alley...he felt he was doing a public service!

PS: Thanks, Snap, for keeping it civil around here. L.

[snapdragen]

I have a group of crows that sing me awake every morning So pretty....NOT!

[DDH]

Guess you haven't spent much time in California, have you? American River Parkway, Mt. Diablo, ALL of Southern California, etc. These are animals that have become very used to humans and live very successfully in the urban setting.

No ma'am, I haven't been to California. I hope to go there some time in the near future, I have a friend I want to meet really badly in Southern Calif.

[SadieKate]

OMG! She called me ma'am! You must be from Texas?!

Being half-Texan on my father's side I can say that. Ma'am isn't heard very often in these parts.

[DDH]

LMAO, I am cracking up here!!! Sorry, it just came natural for me, Kinda like saying howdy, instead of hello.

[nancielle]

Did you know that the smell can linger in your car for up to 6 months after a near proximity spraying?

Gag. Sadly, yes. Several years ago while driving home from class I encountered Skunkzilla waddling in the road. I didn't have time to stop but I was able to position the car so that I drove over it (not squashing type drive over), looked in the rearview mirror and saw it continuing to waddle on its merry way. Pat myself on the back for dodging that bullett...until the next morning when I was leaving for work. Turned the key and as the car got warmer eau de skunk got stronger. And there's nothing you can do about it. Needless to say, nobody wanted to carpool with me.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

LMAO, I am cracking up here!!! Sorry, it just came natural for me, Kinda like saying howdy, instead of hello.

....."Howdy??.....

Hey what's wrong with all you guys anyway? Dh and I LOVE to hear ALL the birds at dawn- at the first hint of daylight. We sleep with the windows open so we can hear the mockingbirds, crows, bluejays, sparrows, cardinals, wrens, chickadees, hawks, blackbirds, doves, woodpeckers....it's a beautiful symphony that just sort of lulls us along and doesn't keep us from going back to sleep- it just flavors our half dreams in a nice way. When I hear crows I envision Van Gogh's painting of black crows over the golden corn. The bluejays make me think of the Adirondac pine woods. The doves remind me of mournful windy cliffs in Maine. The sparrows remind me of my city early childhood days. Each birdsong evokes rich memories and soothes me when I am half asleep. We are sad that for the past two years all the mockingbirds that used to be in our neighborhood have suddenly disappeared. The abundant honeybees are completely gone from my gardens and flowering trees as well this year. Scary.

[Zeek]

Wow, did I open up a can of worms or what?

I am a country girl and have grown up around skunks my entire life. They are pests and they are wretched. They have no natural predators and therefore are overpoplulated. They do carry rabies and they do spray easily. Maybe the ones on Myth Busters were more accustomed to living with people and maybe the ones in the camprgound were accustomed to this as well. The ones that I have been around aren't.

They spray up to 10 feet. It is wretched. It can send you to the hospital it is so awful. I know two people who have gone to the hospital for that. I have had one dog that was sprayed 10 times. My neighbor that shot the skunk? Sprayed twice. Did you know that the spray of a skunk can make unopened food - crackers - taste like the spray of a skunk? It isn't a nose thing, either. The crackers that I am referring to were 3 months old and unopened. Barf. Did you know that the smell can linger in your car for up to 6 months after a near proximity spraying? We had a car growing up and MAN was it awful to ride in. Did you know that tomato juice really doesn't work? I do because I have bathed the dog that got sprayed with it numerous times.

This is not the first time that I have been around a skunk that we have shot, in fact, it is about the 11th time. Now hold your horses - I also fish and eat them. I like hunting. I also smack mosquitoes when they land on me. Horse flies too. I also set out DCon to kill the mice at my house. I eat chicken.

My point? Everything does have a place on the planet. Including US!!! I am not an awful person because I do these things. You aren't perfect because you don't. There isn't ONE right way to do things. You are entitled to your opinion on this matter as am I.

It didn't bring great joy for us to pop off a skunk , (and also I am not going to throw a funeral for it) - but it is a relief to know that it won't be lurking out there when I let my dog out - or when the kids do on accident. It is also a relief to know that I won't be getting sprayed next time I mow the lawn. They are creatures of habit and do tend to return to the same place to "nest".

Thanks for all of your opinions. I don't feel at all bad for what I did. Life in the Western rural setting is perhaps a bit different than the rest of the world. Just remember, there are many opinions and no ONE right way.

Very good and enlightening post--thank you, Flybye.

[Zeek]

DH shot a mocking bird with a pellet gun once. (We were living in the city limits in San Diego).

The d@mned thing kept going off at 3 in the morning. It was like one of those car alarms that sounds all the different alarm tones over and over. We tried throwing rocks at it, shooing it away. It was in a neighbor's tree. Weeks and weeks this went on. Finally he went to the sporting good store and bought a pellet gun. Then one night, in the pitch dark, he shot it. I don't know how he did it, but the thing never came back, so he must have hit it.

We felt badly about it, but we slept better than we had in weeks.

I could be wrong (Lord knows it's happened before) but is it legal to kill a mocking bird?

[Eden]

Hey what's wrong with all you guys anyway? Dh and I LOVE to hear ALL the birds at dawn- at the first hint of daylight. We sleep with the windows open so we can hear the mockingbirds, crows, bluejays, sparrows, cardinals, wrens, chickadees, hawks, blackbirds, doves, woodpeckers....it's a beautiful symphony that just sort of lulls us along and doesn't keep us from going back to sleep- (

hmmmm birds are fine, but when we sleep with the windows open the birds wake up (and excite) the cats, and since we get veeeerrry early dawns during the summer way up north here in Seattle, having riled up kitties romping over your bed (or scratching at the door if we kick them out) doesn't do much for your sleep....

[Lise]

I could be wrong (Lord knows it's happened before) but is it legal to kill a mocking bird?

Well, surely it's a sin (referrence To Kill A Mockingbird).

Frankly, I don't know how likely it is that one would kill a bird by shooting at it in the dark. I do love birdsong in the morning, just not the same incessant three notes at 3 AM!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I do love birdsong in the morning, just not the same incessant three notes at 3 AM!

I can understand how that would disturb many people's sleep. I guess I am lucky in that even angrily cawing crows sound like soothing music to me.

Well, our neighbor has trapped a few beavers and we called in hopes that he had a skunk trap handy. He didn't. He came over with a huge smile on his face and a high powered pellet gun. He received the gun at Christmas and hadn't had a chance to use it yet."

.....Well there's a guy who apparently did seem to get some joy out of it!

We had a ground hog/woodchuck in our garden last summer who decided to burrow a home under our shed and eat our vegetable garden up every day. I borrowed a Have-a-heart trap and he fell for the apples and peanut butter and we trapped him in about an hour. We drove him far away to some abandoned fields and let him go there. I can't imagine that trapping a skunk would be an option though. I'd have just let him wander off eventually- he probably wouldn't stay right where big hound dogs are living for very long.

There used to be a skunk living somewhere right on Main Street in our village. Every night he would go rummaging for dropped goodies in back of Ralph's Pretty Good Cafe. I ran right into him with my little pug dog one evening- he was huge and gorgeous. Me and little Kinky just politely backed off and let him be! The restaurant crew knew enough to always check carefully before going back there at night, they all knew about the skunk. Everyone managed to coexist ok.

[maillotpois]

We get crows at 5 am here. That's okay. It's almost light. This mocking bird was at 2 - 3 a.m. Dark. Psycho bird.

If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

[maillotpois]

You're a weak admin.

Not likely.

I learned in third grade no matter how much you disagree with someone you don't call them stupid. Period. Don't turn this on her.

Frankly, I don't know how likely it is that one would kill a bird by shooting at it in the dark. I do love birdsong in the morning, just not the same incessant three notes at 3 AM!

He's a good shot. Or maybe it was dumb luck. Either way, we'd be happy to give J some pointers....

[Lise]

He's a good shot. Or maybe it was dumb luck. Either way, we'd be happy to give J some pointers....

I'm sure he'd appreciate them!

I agree, keep it civil, folks.