Re: [APML] Critter stories (Was NGC7000 in Tech Pan)

["Stuart Heggie" <stuart.j.heggie@sympatico.ca>]

Alan - that is a VERY funny story! You have a much higher tolerance for
skunk spray than I have. Remember they are common rabies carriers! Up here
you have to have a basement so less common to have them under your house.
I too have lots of raccoons but they live off my composter. They are a
pretty nasty animal but they look cute. Once I was guiding a photo in the
spring and I figure there must have been 30 raccons (actually 15 pairs) very
busy and very noisy if you get my meaning. Was kind of funny or creepy
depending on how you react to mating season.

Stuart
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Voetsch" <critter12952@yahoo.com>
To: "Discussion of Film Astrophotography" <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 8:23 PM
Subject: [APML] Critter stories (Was NGC7000 in Tech Pan)


> Hey Stuart,
>
> --- Stuart Heggie <stuart.j.heggie@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> > under the tummy and I'm thinking "You know, I don't recall her having
> > this
> > big wide white stripe on her back YIKES!!!". Backing away quickly but
> > the
> > skunk never even acknowledged my presence or proximity!
>
> That could've been nasty. They tend to be pretty stoic, but if they are
> startled, well, you know...
>
>  My dog had hundreds of skunk encounters before he died this last
> Summer. He never learned to leave them alone. If I was bored, I'd get a
> flashlight and go out and watch him get his ass whipped. One time he
> got his teeth into one, but he let go pretty quick and ran off to rub
> his face in the grass. I used to laugh so hard watching him get
> whooped, and of course, he ALWAYS went back for more.
>
> Our water heater shed/closet is outside on the back porch, and the side
> has a small hole cut into for cats to go in and out. We used to keep
> the cat food in there so the dog wouldn't eat it. Of course the other
> critters small enough to get in found it and started helping themselves
> too. The dog constantly had skunks trapped in there and, while he
> couldn't get in, he scared them enough to get them to spray pretty
> often. Well, right on the inside of the wall where the water heater is,
> is the closet to one of the kid's bedrooms. My oldest daughter used to
> have to wear the stinkiest clothes to school that you'd ever want to
> smell. I stopped that whole thing by no longer putting cat food in
> there, but for about a year it always stunk around here.
>
> About 7 years ago, my girls found an injured skunk as they were walking
> home from school. They carried it home in their arms and named it
> Horace. It got to live in my observatory for about 10 days as it
> recovered. Once it was feeling good enough to start spraying us all the
> time, I figured it was healthy enough to get on with it's life and
> released it. Eventually, I was able to clean up his crap (took some
> doing) and the smell went away.
>
> The current skunk (I named him 'Skunky') comes up on the front porch
> and eats cat food there every night. Actually, several times a night. I
> can open the door gently and look at him and talk to him, but sudden
> movements send him scurrying away to his hole at the side of the house.
> This hole gives him access to all the area under the house. Once in
> awhile as I'm going out to check the progress of a shot, we have an
> enexpected encouter and I have to stop, or move very slowly to avoid
> startling him, which of course is the last thing any of us wants.
>
> Of course, I haven't even mentioned the constant racoon raids that go
> on around here. We not only have to feed 4 cats, but probably half a
> dozen other critters as well. At least they're small critters. :-)
>
> Alan
>
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